Sergio Busquets is getting closer to the end of his tenure at Barcelona. The club tried to find a replacement and found a suitable profile in Martin Zubimendi.
Busquets is old, he is 34 years old. His dedication to Barcelona has also been very long. The total is approximately 14 years since he was promoted to the senior team in 2008.
Towards the end of his contract, Barcelona has no plans to extend the player's contract. He is confirmed to leave Barcelona at the end of the 2022/2023 season.
The time is still long indeed considering the Spanish League itself has only been running for seven weeks. However, Barcelona have started to hunt and determine Zubimendi, Real Sociedad's midfielder as the right person.
Ideal Substitute
According to Mundo Deportivo's report, there was an intense and lengthy discussion within Barcelona before deciding on Zubimendi's name. The discussion is also believed to have reached a consensus on one name, Zubimendi.
Zubimendi was chosen for good reasons. Barcelona want to find an ideal replacement for Busquets. The 23-year-old player was also considered suitable.
They both play as defensive midfielders. Zubimendi and Busquets were more often involved in the wake-up phase of the attack. This is supported by aspects of playing vision, bait accuracy, to pressure resistance.
Already Contacted
The same report states that Barcelona have contacted Zubimendi's agent. This became the beginning of talks between Barcelona and Zubimendi.
However, Barcelona's efforts to bring in Zubimendi will not be easy. The player's contract at Sociedad is still until 2025.
In addition, Zubimendi has a release clause of up to 60 million Euros. It is not yet clear whether Barcelona will accept the transfer fee.
Raised Sociedad
Zubimendi has only played for one club throughout his career. That club is Real Sociedad.
This 181 cm stature player was raised by Sociedad. He is recorded as having defended Real Sociedad B for 50 times.
Zubimendi has been in the senior team in the 2018/2019 season. However, he has just started to become a core pillar of Sociedad in the 2020/2021 season.