Barcelona's Oriol Romeu linked with return to Girona
Romeu has quickly fallen down the pecking order and a return to Girona could be on the horizon.
Oriol Romeu was an unused substitute in Barcelona 4-2 loss over the weekend against his former side, Girona.
Romeu has played very little the last month or so with speculation that his time at Barcelona could be over as quickly as it starter.
Therefore, it is not surprising rumors are circulating that a return to Girona, where his performances led Barcelona to sign him in the first place, is on the table.
According to Cadena Ser, Girona would like to have their former midfielder back though a move is seen as complicated. However, should a return happen, Girona would like it to be during the January transfer window.
That is probably why Girona see the move as complicated.
With the loss of Gavi and the fact Pedri has yet to stay injury-free for an entire season, Barcelona is limited when it comes to their midfield options. With no natural pivot on the team other than Romeu, they are unlikely to want to part with Romeu even if he's seen his playing time significantly decrease.
Another factor could be Barcelona not wanting to reinforce a direct rival.
Another could be Barcelona not wanting to admit a mistake.
When Sergio Busquets announced he was no signing a new deal last season, Barcelona knew they were going to have trouble replacing Busquets who transformed what it meant to be a holding midfielder.
Xavi's dream was to sign either Real Sociedad's Martin Zubimendi or Bayern Munich's Joshua Kimmich. Ultimately, Barcelona "settled' for Romeu, believing he would transition into the squad rather quickly as he came up through La Masia.
In preseason, and the first handful of games of the season, it looked like Barcelona ascertained in signing Romeu.
However, his dip in form came following the injury to Frenkie de Jong.
Without the Dutchman, Romeu looked lost and was nowhere near providing the security that Busquets once did. While no one expected Romeu to be the next Busquets, they did expect a better contribution than what Romeu has shown.
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If Barcelona were to somehow reach an agreement with Girona and Romeu succeeds under Michel, it would reflect poorly on Xavi. Eric Garcia already seems a different player under Michel's tutelage and if Romeu were to bounce back, further questions would arise about Xavi's ability to improve players and his ability to manage a side the size of Barcelona.