Pep Guardiola had vowed not to resort to his previous success formulas when he took charge of Manchester City last summer. But the pressure of instant success and unruly nature of the Premier League are now forcing him to take the same path again. According to reports, the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss has made enquiries about the possible availability of Sergio Busquets from Barcelona.
Following the sale of Brazilian midfielder Fernando this summer, the Sky Blues have a gap in their midfield that needs filing. Although Guardiola would ideally go for a youngster like Aleix Garcia from the Academy, given the unimportant nature of a third-choice midfielder, the Spaniard is on loan and the manager wouldn’t want to take any risks ahead of the most crucial season of his managerial career.
Despite bringing in five players this summer that cost the club over £200 million, midfield remains unattended so far, with Guardiola looking to rely on the likes of Yaya Toure, Ilkay Gundogan and Fernandinho to hold the mast steady. Now, they are really classy in their abilities and have gelled in Guardiola’s style of play too, but the gruelling league brings with itself huge chances of injuries that make squad shuffling an essential tactic in England.
Getting in Busquets would surely mean real competition for the other three as the Barcelona star isn’t likely to settle for a backup role. But, that is if Barcelona are willing to let their midfielder leave this summer. The Catalans saw a surprising turn of events this summer as they ended up selling their superstar player Neymar against all expectations.
Following their dismal season in the La Liga as well as on the European platform, they were expected to make few record signings for a massive squad upgrade. But apart from Nelson Semedo, they are yet to make any major signings with the transfer window closing on August 31st.
Leaving Busquets is not an option for them surely as they are unlikely to find a like for like replacement of the Sabadell-born in such a short span of time. A youth product of Barcelona’s La Masia academy, Busquets has been one of their most successful players in the past one decade. With Guardiola at the helm in Camp Nou, they both went onto win a whopping 14 titles.
Busquets has played 432 games for Barcelona so far, scoring 12 goals and assisting 28 times. He also has 97 caps for Spain’s national team. The kind of discipline and fluidity he brings in the midfield is underrated but unparalleled.
