Former Barcelona youth coach Pedro Abraham has revealed that Southampton enforcer Oriol Romeu was once tipped to be the successor to Sergio Busquets at the Catalan club.
The Spaniard has endured an injury-plagued career, but is now shining at Southampton, establishing himself as one of the Premier League's most consistent performers.
Speaking toSky Sports, Abraham said that Romeu was tipped for big things at the Camp Nou before making the move to Chelsea in 2011.
"He's not Iniesta or Xavi," he said."He is more physical than your typical Barcelona player, but for me he has a similar profile to Busquets. He is a bit stronger and not as technical, but he would have fought for that position “ he gives a lot of balance to the team."
"He came to us from Espanyol's academy when he was 13," he continued.
"The first year was difficult for him. He found it difficult to be an important player, but gradually he became indispensable. He was very intelligent and very serious. That was important for his development. He improved every year."
"He was quite slow and didn't have an explosive turn of pace, but he knew how to use his body very well," says Abraham. "He knew how to anticipate the play so you didn't see his lack of pace. By the time he was 15 or 16, you could see he was going to make it at the top level."