Barcelona may already have Busquets replacement

With club legend Sergio Busquets having made the move to Inter Miami, Barcelona will need to replace their legendary midfielder if they hope to challenge for the La Liga title this season.

Joan Laporta was speaking with La Vanguardia and hinted that his replacement may need to come from within the ranks, as Barca tries to manage its financial situation.

Manager Xavi Hernandez is keen to reinforce the middle of the pitch following the departure of Busquets but Laporta indicated that he understood that some options were unfeasible, via Mundo Deportivo:

"“He understands the club’s situation. He would like to reinforce the center of the field, but he knows that some options are unfeasible and we would be wrong. We would cut off the progression of the quarry. We have Marc Casadó, Pau Prim, Gerard Hernández or Marc Bernal . First we have to look at home”."

Barca has been offered the chance to sign Bayern Munich midfielder Marcel Sabitzer, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Manchester United.

Although Sabitzer could certainly do a job for Barcelona, with the arrival of  İlkay Gündoğan from Manchester City, a more defensive-minded option is preferable.

Marc Casadó would certainly fit that profile. The tenacious defensive midfielder has been with Barcelona since moving to their youth academy set up as a 13-year-old. He spent last season playing for Barcelona B and may be ready for the step up to the first team.

In a recent friendly against Andres Iniesta’s Vissel Kobe, it was Pau Prim who was chosen to play that midfield role and he managed it very well.

Barcelona have plenty of options to fill the role vacated by Busquets, but all of them are unproven at the highest level. However, to gain experience you need to play. The only way for Barcelona to see if they have a replacement in-house is to experiment with the players they have. Due to the current financial restrictions, they may be forced t do that anyway.