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Barcelona : Who will succeed Sergio Busquets in the first-team?

By Chiranjib Ghosh

LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 20: Sergio Busquets of Barcelona controls the ball during the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 First Leg match between Chelsea FC and FC Barcelona at Stamford Bridge on February 20, 2018 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 20: Sergio Busquets of Barcelona controls the ball during the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 First Leg match between Chelsea FC and FC Barcelona at Stamford Bridge on February 20, 2018 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images) /
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Sergio Busquets is 29, and needs a claimant to his spot in the first-team

BARCELONA, SPAIN – FEBRUARY 24: Sergio Busquets of FC Barcelona during the La Liga Santander match between FC Barcelona v Girona at the Camp Nou on February 24, 2018 in Barcelona Spain (Photo by Eric Verhoeven/Soccrates/Getty Images)
BARCELONA, SPAIN – FEBRUARY 24: Sergio Busquets of FC Barcelona during the La Liga Santander match between FC Barcelona v Girona at the Camp Nou on February 24, 2018 in Barcelona Spain (Photo by Eric Verhoeven/Soccrates/Getty Images) /

Players who have a monopoly in the first-team of their clubs slowly start to decline due to complacency. While it isn’t true for all-time greats like Gianluigi Buffon and Pelé, it affected the game of Francesco Totti and Steven Gerrard.

Sergio Busquets is one of the best midfielders of his generation, but cannot be classified as an all-time great, at least, not yet. He needs a claimant to his spot in the first-team. The 29-year old hasn’t started declining, but will at some point in the future.

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Barcelona have made several attempts to acquire a player who would fit that role. Sergi Roberto and Sergi Samper were introduced into the first-team squad as defensive midfielders. But none of them could fill that role.

While Roberto became a squad player, Samper went on several loan spells and failed to establish himself under any manager at the Camp Nou. The club also signed players like André Gomes and Paulinho who have failed to perform convincingly in the position.

At this point, the best backup for Sergio Busquets in the squad is Ivan Rakitić, who is a member of the first-team himself. Currently, Sergi Samper is injured and out for the rest of the season. The squad needs a defensive midfielder to back up and eventually succeed Sergio Busquets.

Clearly, the club doesn’t have a proper player for that role, and needs to sign a player. Barcelona have been linked to a move for Leicester’s Nigerian midfielder Wilfred Ndidi, but the club should go for an older option, who can slip into a first-team spot when Busquets starts to decline.

Next: André Gomes has the talent, not the temperament

Players like William Carvalho and Danilo Pereira are ideal for such a role. When Busquets starts to decline, they will be in their prime and enable a smooth transition to a post-Busquets era.