Wales national team boss Chris Coleman believes that Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey would be more than capable of taking over the reigns from Xavi in the Barcelona midfield should they come calling for him in the summer, the Daily Star reports.
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Xavi this week announced that he would be leaving the club next month in order to see out the remainder of his career in Qatar, and Ramsey feels that Ramsey could steep into his boots without missing a beat.
Ramsey was recently linked with a £50m move to the Nou Camp, but with Barcelona still in the grip of a transfer embargo Gunners chief Arsene Wenger sought to dismiss the story as idle speculation.
But Coleman said: “I am not surprised at that link because if you look at the way Aaron plays and the way Barcelona play with all that imagination. It is not too dissimilar to the way Arsenal play.
“People dismissed it a bit, but he is Welsh. I promise you if he was English it would be different.
“Barca signed Ivan Rakitic from Seville last year. He’s a good player. Some people were scoffing at that. But he’s a good player. And if Barca are looking at Rambo then it’s for a reason.
“It’s for his style of play. He’s already playing for Arsenal who play a similar style. He’s playing at the top of the Premier League, Champions League every season.
“So ability-wise at his best is Aaron good enough for Barcelona? Yes he is.”
Coleman also has Real Madrid megastar Gareth Bale under his charge, and believes Ramsey is also worthy of mixing it up amongst the world’s elitist players.
“It’s not the players’ fault that these fees are being bandied about,” he added.
“You look at Gareth Bale and £80m and it’s always been the attitude that we are little old Wales.
“We are a small nation so it’s like ‘why would Real Madrid want him?’ But just look at the cold facts.
“Is he good enough to play for them? Of course he is.”
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