5 long-term replacements for Gerard Pique at FC Barcelona

#2 Jorge Meré (FC Cologne)

Meré is already seen as the best young Spanish center-back and would be popular with Cules

Already being touted back in Spain as the long-term successor to Sergio Ramos for La Furia Roja (and possibly at Real Madrid as well) Meré shares so many of the qualities that the now legendary Real Madrid & Spain captain possesses that a seamless transition at least at the national level is being seen as an absolute certainty.

A good look at the Oviedo-born defender’s playing style shows that he is like a hybrid combining the best qualities of both Piqué & Ramos to make a player that is all Meré.

His love for making a tackle and being aggressive are similar to those of the Los Merengues Capitan while his vision, calmness on the ball and ability to initiate play from the back are all Pique.

The 20-year-old already has everything you want in a modern defender and as brilliant as the aforementioned qualities are, he also possesses an intelligence which helps him to read the game well while being strong in the air and quite quick for a center-back.

These qualities have been sorely tested in his first season in the Bundesliga as his Cologne side coming off last season’s impressive showing have been dire and currently sit at the bottom of the table staring down the barrel of relegation.

This is great news for the Blaugrana as it means the young Spaniard would be available for a snip but Barca president Josep Bartomeu will have to hurry as other big clubs will be certain to enter the fray once the Billy Goats get relegated.