Southampton midfielder Oriol Romeu is open to a Barcelona return should the Spanish side weigh in with an offer for him.
In an interview with Spanish media outlet Mundo Deportivo, former Chelsea and Barcelona midfielder Oriol Romeu has iterated his desire to return to the Camp Nou to represent the Catalan giants.
When asked by if he would think about returning to the Nou Camp if Barcelona called him, he replied, “I am a Cule [a Barcelona fan] and I will always be grateful to the club. I would assess it, of course.
“I would have to look at the conditions, [the reasons] why they want me and what I can contribute. Barca have the best midfielder that they could have, so I doubt that they would need someone in that position.”
The 25-year-old was given his first big break by Barcelona in 2011 when he made his first senior appearance for the Spanish side. Prior to that, the Spaniard enjoyed youth spells with Espanyol as well as four years with the Barcelona B side.
On July 23rd 2011, Romeu was officially announced a Chelsea player. The midfielder was reportedly surplus to the then manager Pep Guardiola’s plans at Camp Nou, who decided to offload the player for a relative bargain of €5 million.
The youngster was expected to pull the strings of the Blues midfield for the next decade in the Premier League, but failed to live up to his billing at the club. He only went on to make 22 appearances for the London outfit before being shipped off on loan to Valencia.
Romeu also spent a brief spell with Bundesliga side Stuttgart, after which Premier League club Southampton decided to sign the midfielder on a permanent basis. Chelsea made a slight profit on his sale as they received €5.86 million for his services.
Since his move to St. Mary’s Romeu’s career has taken an upward trajectory. He has become an integral cog in the Saints’ midfield and is one of manager Claude Puel’s trusted creator-in-chiefs at the club.
The 25-year-old has made 16 appearances in this league this season and boasts a stellar pass accuracy rate of 87 percent (via WhoScored). While a move to Barelona may be somewhat of a long shot, Romeu will be looking to build on his performances and earn some recognition with Southampton.
