Barcelona make contact with Southampton star Romeu

Recently signed contract extension to 2021

Posted Friday, May 12, 2017 by Marca.com

Lionel Messi's contract renewal may be Barcelona's biggest priority this summer, along with securing a replacement for the departing Luis Enrique, but the club are planning for the short and medium-term with a raid that includes trying to re-sign Oriol Romeu from Southampton.

One of the positions that sporting director Robert Fernandez will focus on is right-back, with neither Sergi Roberto nor Aleix Vidal filling the Dani Alves-sized hole at the back, but he is looking to sign three or four other players as the club look to shake things up.

Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets continue to be the two outstanding players in midfield and they are without reliable back-ups, and thus Fernandez is considering bringing Romeu back to the Camp Nou, six years after he left to join Chelsea.

Barcelona have made Romeu aware of their interest and informed him that he fits the image they are looking for; a physical player who is good on the ball, something he learned during his time at La Masia from 2004 to 2011.

The 25-year-old, who was born in Catalonia, has found stability under Southampton manager Claude Puel, something he was unable to do at Chelsea, Valencia and Stuttgart, and Fernandez believes that he is the ideal player to strengthen the team's spine.

Regular game time has meant that Romeu has blossomed under Puel - something he showed glimpses of under former boss Ronald Koeman, who is also being linked with a move to the Blaugrana - and that led to the Spaniard renewing his contract with Southampton in 2017, but a return to Barcelona could be too difficult to turn down.