Southampton's Oriol Romeu 'leading target for Barcelona'

Barcelona are reportedly desperate to re-sign Southampton midfielder Oriol Romeu this summer.

The 25-year-old started his career with Barcelona, but only made two first-team appearances for the Spanish giants before joining Chelsea in 2011.

The Spain Under-23 international struggled to settle at Stamford Bridge, however, and spent time on loan at Valencia and Stuttgart before joining Southampton on a permanent deal in 2015.

Romeu has been an ever-present for the Saints this season, making 43 appearances in all competitions, and reportedly drawing attention with a host of impressive performances over the last few months.

According to Marca, Barcelona want competition for Sergio Busquets in the anchorman role next season, and Romeu has been identified by the board as the perfect player to boost the squad.

Romeu has started 32 of Southampton's 35 Premier League games this season.