5 possible long-term replacements for Sergio Busquets at Barcelona

#1 Rodrigo (Atletico Madrid)

Rodri looks to be the best like-for-like replacement for Busquets

Already been mooted as Busquets’ replacement at the national level, there is no reason why Rodri cannot replace the Catalan genius at club level as well.

The breakout star in La Liga last season, he was an outstanding player (alongside Pablo Fornals) in a youthful Villarreal side. Rodri has blossomed into an outstanding central midfielder. Playing at the base of the midfield, the youngster averaged an astounding tackle rate of 2.7 per game last season.

This pushed Atletico Madrid to get the player back (he was a cantera product who was let go for ironically being too small). A fee of €18m was paid to El Submarino Amarillo for his services.

Lining up as long-term captain, Gabi’s replacement, Rodri has been ever-present in Diego Simeone’s team this season. He has taken his place as the deepest midfielder allowing Koke and Saul Niguez license to get further up the pitch to join the attack.

He is probably the closest to a Busquets clone that currently exists in world football. Atleti will put up a huge fight to keep the talented youngster. If Barca can agree on a deal, they could potentially be getting a like-for-like replacement of one of the club’s most important players in a very long time.