Xavi names Barcelona star who will be this season's 'big surprise'

Cameron Smith

• 18 Jul 2023 19:53 BST
• 3 min read

Barcelona are on the verge of completing the signing of 31-year-old Spanish midfielder Oriol Romeu from Girona, and Blaugrana manager Xavi believes he will shock a lot of people this season.

Romeu joined Girona on a free transfer last summer after leaving Southampton and impressed back on Spanish shores, with his performance at Camp Nou against Barcelona catching the eye in particular.

The former Chelsea and Southampton midfielder is expected to replace Sergio Busquets in the deepest role of Barca’s midfield. Busquets has followed Lionel Messi to MLS side Inter Miami, while Jordi Alba is also expected to move to the David Beckham-owned club in the coming days.

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Romeu came through the La Masia academy at Barcelona and made two first-team appearances before he joined Chelsea for a reported €5 million in 2011. He was 19 at the time. However, he failed to make the grade at Chelsea and was subsequently sold to Southampton.

Romeu thrived at St Mary’s and the bulk of his career was spent with Saints - 256 of his 421 senior appearances to date came for the south coast side.

He is now set to return to Camp Nou after over a decade away, and Xavi is optimistic about his return.

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Romeu to shine at Camp Nou?

According to AS, Xavi has assured Joan Laporta that Romeu is going to be "the big surprise" of the season after doubts were expressed by the Barcelona president.

Romeu will join the club on a free transfer, which aligns with Barca’s restricted financial capability in the transfer market.

The Blaugrana have also signed Ilkay Gundogan on a free transfer from Manchester City this summer. The German midfielder has also been named as a potential candidate to replace Busquets, with Frenkie de Jong, Pedri and Gavi among the options to play slightly more advanced.

Franck Kessie is set to be sold this window, with Xavi not including the Ivorian in his plans for the season. Juventus have expressed interest in signing the former Atalanta and AC Milan star.