Barcelona Line Up move for Uruguayan Wonderkid as Busquets Replacement amid Asking Price
Barca has been keeping an eye on Diaz for some time
According to reports, FC Barcelona is eyeing Uruguayan wonderkid Fabricio Diaz as a possible successor to center Sergio Busquets and already knows what their club is willing to pay.
Recently, Vitor Roque of Athletico Paranaense, another player wanted by Barcelona, led the Brazil squad at the South American U20 Championships, where Diaz helped his nation finish in second place.
However, Liverpool de Montevideo would be content to take a much lower €6 million ($6.3 million) for their midfielder, according to SPORT, whereas Roque’s Curitiba club could demand up to €40 million ($42.3 million) for him.
The Catalan daily claims that although Barca has been keeping an eye on Diaz for some time, it was at the South American U20 Championships that the 20-year-old truly caught the attention of the footballing world.
Despite occupying the deeper defensive midfield position of pivot, Diaz completed the season with five goals in eight games, leaving him one goal behind Roque and Andrey Santos for the team’s five-goal lead.
At the tournament in Colombia, Diaz also gave his teammates two assists, and Barca may have at last discovered a long-term replacement for Busquets.
The contract of the 34-year-old man ends in June of this year. Even if Busquets extends his contract, the Blaugrana still need a player to later join Frenkie de Jong in the four-man midfield system that has greatly contributed to their ascent to the top of the La Liga standings with a nine-point advantage.
Given their budgetary situation, Barca should approach Diaz as well. A deal for Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi, who has a €60 million ($63.4 million) release clause, is complicated by the fact that they have been told by the president of the Spanish top flight, Javier Tebas, that they must cut €200 million ($211 million) from the wage bill before the next term.
Given how things worked out with his fellow countryman Ronald Araujo, Diaz would cost ten times less than that value and is worth a gamble.
Boston River was acquired by Barca for the pitiful sum of €4.7 million ($5 million) in 2018. Since then, the defender has established himself as one of the best in the world of football and is expected to take over as captain when Busquets eventually retires.
