FC Barcelona are constantly studying ways to improve the squad led by Hansi Flick with the aim of once again being candidates for all the titles. One of the positions to be strengthened would be the pivot, where they have not found a reliable player since the departure of Sergio Busquets two summers ago. After getting rid of Oriol Romeu, the Catalans sought to close the arrival of a player to strengthen the position, but the problems with 'fair play' ended up rejecting the operation, so they ended up putting their trust in the 'irruption' of Marc Bernal and Marc Casadó.
However, the serious injury of the first, which has forced him to say goodbye to the season, represented a hard blow to the sporting planning of the club, where they have reopened the pivot file for the next season.
And it is here where the name of Jerdy Schouten appears as one of the club's surprise alternatives. At 27 years old, the PSV Eindhoven player is going through one of the best moments of his career, being a key piece in the Dutch team and establishing himself as one of the revelations of the last Eurocup with the Netherlands.
Schouten, an old desire of Barça
Interestingly, the midfielder replaced Frenkie de Jong in Ronald Koeman's scheme...
and Can Barça would have started contacts with his entourage last summer
...as reported by 'MARCA'. However, the inconveniences when it came to registering players prevented any option of acquiring the services of the player, whose market value is currently around 25 million euros.
The competition for the midfielder will be tough, as teams like Juventus and Borussia Dortmund were on the trail of the player in the previous transfer market and could try to sign him again in the summer window of 2025. A couple of months ago, there was talk of a transfer price of 45 million, an amount that would not be a problem for a Barça with an increased salary limit and with the 'lever' of the agreement with Nike falling through.
Barça will evaluate Marc Casadó
Beyond all this, the priority of the Catalan institution is to evaluate Marc Casadó's progress throughout the current campaign, hoping that he ends up establishing himself in the position. In the meantime, they will have to wait for Bernal, whose return to the pitch could occur once the 2025-2026 season has started, although they hope that due to his young age he will return to the Blaugrana discipline at a good level.