Not for the first time over the last couple of years, Barcelona are showing interest in Luiz Gustavo, joining the race for the Bayern Munich midfielder a bit late, but still in time to cause some trouble and possibly end up snapping up the player.
Bayern Munich are looking for a fee of around €17-20 million, but it seems like the biggest name after Gustavo up to this point, Arsenal, aren’t too keen on paying such a fee for a player Bayern have no use of. Arsenal aren’t the only team in the race – Inter Milan, Dynamo Moscow and Wolfsburg are also very interested, and Dynamo are probably willing to pay the price, but Gustavo wants more than just a club he knows he has a guaranteed spot on.
He wants to play on a team that ensures him a spot in the lineup of the Brazilian national team going into the 2014 World Cup. He currently has his spot wrapped up, but being on the wrong club or simply staying on the bench at Bayern might cost him a call up.
The Barcelona direction is interesting, because it’s hard to see Gustavo becoming a constant member of the lineup at the Camp Nou. With Sergio Busquets as the automatic choice at defensive midfielder, Gustavo won’t be getting the playing time he’s hoping for, although even being a rotation player at Barcelona is enough for a call-up from the Brazilian national team.
Barcelona have shown interest in Gustavo around a year ago, when Seydou Keita left the club to play in China. Those who love to play manager in their head can see a scenario in which Gustavo becomes the team’s defensive midfielder while Busquets is pushed back to play with Pique in the middle of the Barcelona defense, but even if there is an actual interest in Gustavo from the Spanish champions like the Bild are claiming, it’s hard to see him playing a significant role on the team.