Barcelona have already contacted the agents of €60 million ‘Busquets replacement’

Barcelona will, in all likelihood, bid goodbye to club captain and veteran midfielder Sergio Busquets at the end of the ongoing campaign.

The 34-year-old has been a permanent fixture in the middle of the park since 2008. But he will be out of contract next summer and has seemingly set his sights on a transfer to the MLS. And unless something dramatic happens, the Spaniard is expected to move on from the club.

And, Barcelona are already chalking up plans to replace their club captain in the long run, with two potential targets identified in the form of Ruben Neves (Wolves) and Martin Zubimendi (Real Sociedad).

As per Mundo Deportivo, Barça have narrowed in on Zubimendi as their preferred candidate to take over from Busquets next year.

The report states that manager Xavi Hernandez, Jordi Cruyff, Mateu Alemany and the rest of the club’s technical staff agree that the Real Sociedad ace is the ideal player to replace their current captain in the long run.

So much so that, Barcelona have already made contact with Zubimendi’s representatives to explore the possibility of a transfer next summer.

Barcelona wish to land Zubimendi as they believe that he is perfectly suited to the role Busquets plays. In addition, the Spaniard is currently on low wages at the Basque Country club and would not be a burden on their wage bill, which is already being stretched to its limits.

Real Sociedad, for their part, will now let their prized asset leave without putting up a fight. The midfielder has a release clause worth €60 million in his contract which runs until the summer of 2025.

La Real want to extend the 23-year-old’s contract so as to improve his wages and raise his release clause amount as well, which could make things complicated for Barcelona.

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