The two reasons why FC Barcelona has forgotten about the signing of a midfielder

At FC Barcelona, the idea of acquiring a midfielder in the summer transfer window seems to be becoming more and more distant. Why? This does not only seem to be a matter of priorities. It should be remembered that the azulgrana team has progressively relegated the idea of reinforcing the pivot to the background, giving more importance to the incorporation of a left-winger, such as Nico Williams from Athletic Club, and another versatile piece for the offensive front, as is the case of Dani Olmo from RB Leipzig who, although naturally a playmaker, can also play in other positions in the attacking final third of the field.

However, the change of targets in the Barcelona squad did not come about as mere speculation, but the sporting management has solid arguments to consider that adding a pivot, rather than being an imperative need, is an alternative that is worth assessing. These reasons include the remarkable emergence of Culés canteranos in the first team dynamics and the high cost that the Catalan side would have had to assume to acquire the services of some of the star names that the team considered strengthening this area of the pitch.

FC Barcelona will rely on La Masia to reinforce the midfield zone

In this sense, FC Barcelona is seeing with satisfaction how two midfielders trained in La Masia, Marc Casadó and Marc Bernal, are shining in the dynamics of the first team. In fact, such has been the confidence shown by Hansi Flick in these two promising young players, that in the two matches of the 2024/25 preseason in the United States, against rivals of the hierarchy of Manchester City (2-2) and Real Madrid (1-2), he lined them up in his starting eleven in a double pivot within his 4-2-3-1 scheme, giving continuity to a duo that was seen on several occasions during the 2023/24 season with Barça Atlètic.

This pair of bets have yielded very promising results, especially in the case of Marc Casadó, who looks more and more 'oiled' in the 'engine room'. The player from Sant Pere de Vilamajor has shown himself to be a dynamic pivot, with a remarkable tactical ability to build play from the back line and join the attack in offensive transitions, in addition to showing a very correct physical deployment and good tactical positioning in defensive work, all qualities valued by the German coach in his vision of what a 'box to box' midfielder should be.

The high cost of the pivots that Barça liked, another big problem for the club

Now, another reason why FC Barcelona gives the impression of having given up on signing a midfielder centers on a strictly economic reason. Why? The financial situation of the Barcelona cast has been marked by a certain austerity in recent years, which has negatively affected the club's possibility of complying with the 'fair play' in LaLiga and of making regular incorporations by not yet complying with the 1/1 rule. With this in mind, and considering that the Culé team intends to focus mainly on the acquisitions of Nico Williams (€62 M) and Dani Olmo (€60 M) and without having yet made a sale of a 'top' name, with what resources could they venture into the market in search of a top-level pivot?

Hansi Flick's most attractive option to reinforce the midfield with a new signing was Bayern Munich's Joshua Kimmich. However, it was clear that this transaction was not feasible due to the amounts involved, both for the cost of the transfer (it was said that Die Roten were asking for between 30 and 40 million euros) and for the player's salary (around 10.3 kilos net per season). The situation was similar with Real Sociedad's Martin Zubimendi, another midfielder who aroused interest in the Condal City team, but with whom the 'Blue and Whites' showed some inflexibility in his possible departure, making it clear that they would not accept less than the 60 million euros of his termination clause.

Even the option of Mikel Merino, also from Real Sociedad, did not seem to be the easiest one to materialize, not so much because of the transfer price (which was around 20-30 M€) as for giving the impression of not being entirely compatible with the circumstances of the azulgrana club, which apparently will opt for relying again on its youth team, a strategy that has been successful on more than one occasion. Now the question arises: will players like Casadó and Bernal be able to strengthen a position where names like Pablo Gavi and İlkay Gündoğan could also stand out? Only time will tell.