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Barcelona are reportedly prioritizing the signing of German and Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan as a replacement for club legend Sergio Busquets.
As per Spanish outlet Sport, Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez views the German midfielder as the perfect short-term successor to Busquets.
The Spaniard has been an ever-reliable servant to his boyhood club over the years and continues to remain so even at the dusk of his career. The 34-year-old has been a regular in Xavi's starting XI this season despite plenty of additions to the squad in the summer.
Spain manager Luis Enrique has also kept his faith in the FIFA World Cup winner with La Furia Rojas in 2010 and has started him in all three group stage games.
However, it has been reported that Busquets has set his sights on leaving Barcelona at the end of the season. His contract will be up in the summer of 2023 and the decorated midfielder is believed to be keen on a new challenge.
While Barcelona are determined to tie the defensive midfielder down to a new deal, they are also exploring options in the transfer market if they fail to keep him.
Barca signed Franck Kessie from AC Milan on a free transfer in the summer but the Ivorian is yet to live up to expectations at Camp Nou.
Experienced German midfielder Gundogan is believed to have emerged as Xavi's first-choice preference to fill Busquets' void. The German is more of a box-to-box midfielder unlike Busquets, who is widely recognized as one of the greatest defensive midfielders of all time.
However, Xavi reportedly believes that the Manchester City skipper has the skillset to slot into Busquets' regista role.
Like Busquets, Gundogan's contract also expires in the summer of 2023 and Manchester City also view him as an integral part of the squad. As claimed by German journalist Florian Plettenberg last month, the midfielder held preliminary talks with Manchester City regarding a new contract.
Barcelona snubbed the chance to sign Chelsea forward before signing Antoine Griezmann
Barcelona reportedly snubbed the chance to sign now-Chelsea forward Kai Havertz before signing Antoine Griezmann from Atletico Madrid.
Former Blaugrana secretary Ramon Planes reportedly watched the Germany international regularly during the 2018-19 season when he was making his name at Bayer Leverkusen. He was believed to have been hugely impressed with the attacking midfielder and wanted to strike a deal with Leverkusen.
However, Barca reportedly saw Havertz as a high-risk signing for someone who would have cost them €70 million and opted for Griezmann instead.
