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Barcelona legend Xavi has been a global star for the past ten years and continues to dominate the midfield with Barcelona and Spain. The quietly elegant central midfield magician is coming up to 34 years old, and with a persistent ankle injury affecting his longevity, it may be time for the Barcelona staff and board to look for a suitable replacement, if there is such a thing. Xavi is one of those midfielders which cannot be replaced like for like, but parts of his game be found in many players and the rest of his undoubted talent can be developed by some of these players. Xavi isn’t just an icon for Barcelona, he is world superstar and this means whoever is chosen to come into the Barca team to fill his boots is under a constant spotlight. Xavi has a great first touch, hawk like vision, and his range of passing looks so natural. Having to find a replacement will be tough but here are a few players who could step up to be suitable replacements.
5. Christian Eriksen – Ajax
Eriksen has become a star in Europe with his dominating displays for Ajax in the Eredivisie, his effortless and smooth manner is something to behold when he is in possession of the ball. Eriksen is in a very similar mold to Xavi and his passing abilities rival that of the Barcelona legend as they both can deploy the long switch across field or the Tika Taka short game. The smooth passing range and the ability to create chances from nothing gives him the creative spark. Eriksen has the talent and experience to dominate the midfield like Xavi has done for many years and could be a very important part of the new era of Barcelona.
4. Magnus Wolff Eikrem – Heerenveen
Young Norway midfielder Eikrem has recently moved to Heerenveen in the Eredivisie and will be under the guidance of the great Marco Van Basten. Eikrem couldn’t make an impact at Man United in his early career as he was blocked by a certain Paul Scholes in midfield. Eikrem is in a much better position now to take over as he learnt a lot in Norway. Eikrem went to Molde where he linked up with former Man United reserve team manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer; while at Molde Eikrem won the Tippesleague twice in a row and became an instant hit with the fans. His passing range is excellent and he can turn a mediocre performance into an onslaught of attacking play with a few simple elegant passes. A little bit of a left field selection perhaps, but the talent is there if nurtured properly.
3. Jack Wilshere – Arsenal
When Wilshere first arrived on the scene at Arsenal, it wasn’t long before he had his whole career mapped out for him. He is young, skillful, elegant and extremely talented. Wilshere has a Spanish way about him and his movement with and without the ball is very impressive, he could take on the best midfielders in the Premier League with ease and this bought a lot of confidence to the rest of the team. The best part of Wilshere’s game is his first touch. It is immaculate and this is perfect for good tempo. Wilshere could fit into any team in Europe, but the Barcelona way is something, which would be very intriguing with Wilshere in the mix; the way Xavi roams around the pitch is similar to Wilshere. Barcelona will have to submit a huge transfer fee to get Wilshere but he may be the answer to the Xavi replacement problem as he should go straight into the Barcelona team like he was meant to be there. Arsenal are probably not going to ever sell Wilshere without a total collapse in their fortunes but he’s worth Barcelona keeping an eye on.
2. Oscar – Chelsea
Oscar can play in either the attacking free role position behind the forward or more play maker role in central midfield. For Brazil, Oscar looks like he has been playing international football for decades and looks very comfortable in this deeper midfield role. Oscar has become a favourite at Stamford Bridge with the exciting fluidity of his game. Xavi and Oscar are very similar in their passing, elegance, creativity and reading of the game. Oscar would suit the Barcelona way and could easily fit into the system. Oscar would come at a hefty transfer fee but it all depends on the vision of Jose Mourinho. If he slots in to Mourinho’s three man midfield with ease then he’s off the radar, but with so many options at Chelsea if he struggles he might become available.
1. Cesc Fabregas – Barcelona
Fabregas joined Barcelona from Arsenal after years of speculation. He joined Barcelona in search of winning trophies, which he has done. Fabregas was bought to be the long term replacement for Xavi, and the fact that he is already at Barcelona would show he is ready to take what he has learnt from Xavi in training and show what he can do in his absence. Fabregas has the talent it’s now a test of his patience. The following season will be the turn around season as Fabregas will be in the midfield a lot more and not upfront. Fabregas is a central midfielder and has natural ability to control games like Xavi does. Having Fabregas in midfield would benefit the national team as it would be a like for like replacement and the Spain winning machine can keep on rolling. Everyone wins with Fabregas taking over from Xavi as the King of Barcelona.
