Barcelona sign Busquets replacement as Romano delivers EXCITING contract updates

Robin Bairner

• 17 Jul 2023 18:01 BST
• 3 min read

Barcelona will sign former Chelsea midfielder Oriol Romeu from Girona as their replacement for Sergio Busquets, with football transfer news expert Fabrizio Romano giving the deal his ‘here we go’ seal of approval.

Romano says that Barcelona are set to spend in the region of €4.5-5 million on a player who came through their youth academy before moving to Chelsea, Southampton and then finally Girona, where he has spent a year.

Pablo Torre, a talented young midfielder, will leave Barca to sign for Girona on a one-year loan deal as part of the agreement to take the 31-year-old Catalan in the opposite direction.

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According to Romano, Romeu has already had his medical with Barcelona and the announcement of the signing is simply a matter of time.

The club have been seeking a replacement for long-time holding midfielder Sergio Busquets, who departed on a free transfer this summer to join Lionel Messi at Inter Miami.

Although Barcelona had previously been linked with the likes of Sofyan Amrabat, the club’s difficult financial position means that they are typically shopping for lower-cost players and often free agents.

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Balde and Lamal deals agreed

Alejandro Balde will sign a new five-year agreement with Barcelona, Romano added, meaning that the talented youngster will commit his future to the Camp Nou side until 2023. The player has already agreed to the contract and only the formalities of the deal need to be completed.

This is simply the latest piece of good news for Barcelona, with Romano confirming that the club have a three-year agreement agreed in principle to keep Lamine Yamal, who only turned 16 on 13 July, at the club until 2026 after the young attacker stared at the U17 European Championship for Spain this summer.