Barca News
The priority to sign this summer, after Lionel Messi, is a high-level pivot. The unanimous choice between the sports administration and the technical staff is Martin Zubimendi, Real Sociedad midfielder, but they are faced with a price problem of 60 million euros (Sociedad demands the value of the penalty clause).
President Joan Laporta would prefer not to pay such a fortune to any team in the league that conspired against Barcelona in the Negrera affair. Faced with this scenario, an unexpected opportunity has arisen in recent months that seems appropriate and convinces everyone in the Juan Gamper Sports City.
It’s Joshua Kimmich, 28, who’s not having his best personal moment at Bayern Munich. The German captain is seriously considering embarking on a new adventure outside the Bundesliga.
It is an option that excited the Barcelona coach and the club is already starting to move towards it. In addition, he can also play in the right-back position, which is another position that the Catalan club intends to strengthen with a new deal this summer.
Kimmich has been playing in Bayern Munich for eight years, but this season he has witnessed tense and unpleasant situations. There is no good atmosphere inside the dressing room, which is divided into parties, and he did not understand the sudden dismissal of former coach Julian Nagelsmann. After that, he began to consider the option of leaving the Bavarian team.
In this sense, the Barcelona project, led by Xavi, impresses Kimmich. What’s more, it started to bear fruit as Barcelona were crowned La Liga and Super Cup champions. He is a seasoned player and an experienced captain.
He is the captain of the German national team, who can also contribute a lot off the field, now that Busquets is gone. Joshua is very committed and takes special care of himself, and says behind closed doors that he wants to play until he’s 38.
The German midfielder fits perfectly with the requirements of the coaching staff, who will be happy to have him. It will not be easy to get him out of Bayern Munich, with whom he signed a contract until 2025.
But it is true that the Bavarian team does not want to have hated players, as was shown in other cases such as Kroos and Alaba. Or more recently with Lewandowski. So if a player wants to leave, Bayern won’t want to keep him either.
Therefore, one of the other keys to the process is that Barcelona officials believe that he can be signed for a price lower than what Real Sociedad asks for in Zubemendi.. In fact, the most expensive sale in the history of the Munich team was the transfer of Lewandowski to Barcelona for 45 million euros.
Kimmich has good friends in the locker room. He knows the Polish striker well, but he has a particularly good relationship with Marc ter Stegen, whom he knows from the German national team.
At Barcelona, they know they have to move quickly to convince the player as quickly as possible and advance at the opportunity. Because they know Kimmich is like candy in the market. There are other teams interested in signing him, such as Manchester City.
Guardiola coached him at Bayern and converted his position. Pep was a head coach of Joshua’s career. The Catalan coach will not hesitate to meet with him again if the opportunity arises, especially if he does not renew Gundogan, who is negotiating with Barcelona.
Source: Mundo Deportivo
