5 Potential Long-Term Replacements at Barcelona for Andres Iniesta

Andres Iniesta has still got some life in his Barcelona career yet, but there's no getting away from the fact that he isn't the player he was.

Sooner or later, the powers that be will have to do the unthinkable and look for a replacement.

But how do you even begin to contemplate replacing a player who was an integral part of two of the most successful sides in football history, who is revered worldwide for his contributions on and off the pitch?

Along with Xavi Hernandez, Iniesta has provided an almost perfect brand of football that has rarely, if ever, been matched.

Let's take a look at five players who could step into his shoes.

Isco

Associated Press

Is his allegiance to Real Madrid enough to disregard the skill set of Isco?

Let's deal with the elephant in the room first.

For obvious reasons, there will be many Cules who wouldn't be a fan of this particular signing, and that view has to be respected.

However, on the flip side of the argument, if a player such as Isco becomes available, then Barca have to be interested, don't they?

After a spell on the sidelines, injuries to both Luka Modric and James Rodriguez allowed the youngster to shine in Madrid.

This season, he's looked every inch the €30 million player Real Madrid signed from Malaga in 2013, playing a brand of dynamic, incisive forward play that would sit very neatly in the Barca midfield.

On current form, he is everything that Iniesta isn't.

If this signing ever did happen, and Mundo Deportivo (via Renato Goncalves of Barca Blaugranes) suggests it might in 2016, Isco's Real allegiance would soon be forgotten, given that he himself is Cule, detailed by Mundo Deportivo (h/t 101 Great Goals).

Denis Suarez

Angel Fernandez/Associated Press

Barca need to repatriate Denis Suarez as quickly as possible.

Sending Denis Suarez on loan to Sevilla seems to have been one of the better decisions made by the current Barca board.

His time in Andalusia has thus far been an unqualified success, with the youngster earning rave reviews for the standard of his performances.

The fulcrum of last year's hugely successful Barca B side, Suarez is already schooled in the club's style of play, which gives him a significant advantage over the other candidates in this list.

His 82 per cent pass accuracy, per the club's official website, will need to improve, with Iniesta's current output in this regard standing at a healthy 89.8 per cent, recorded by WhoScored.com. 

With a nine-year age gap between the two, Suarez still has plenty of time to develop and hone his enviable skill set.

Mateo Kovacic

Associated Press

Mateo Kovacic's signature would be a departure from the norm for Barca.

Signing Inter Milan's Mateo Kovacic would be an interesting departure from the norm by Barca.

For Croatia, the 20-year-old is generally utilised as a playmaker, but his all-round excellence means he hasn't looked out of place playing in any midfield role.

An Iniesta-type role certainly wouldn't cause any problems for him, and as he's shown in Serie A, the link-up play between himself and the Inter attack has been exquisite at times.

Kovacic is no shrinking violet on the pitch and likes to be involved. Aside from his mastery of the football, he isn't frightened to put his foot in.

While that isn't necessarily Barca's natural game, it is perhaps something Barca have been missing in positions other than defensive midfield.

Mundo Deportivo (via Football Espana) notes that Barcelona's sporting director, Ariedo Braida, has already met with Inter officials to discuss the possibility of signing the player once Barca's transfer ban is lifted in January 2016.

Paul Pogba

Associated Press

Paul Pogba would bring drive and power to the Barca midfield.

Juventus' Paul Pogba is one of European football's hottest properties at this moment.

To that end, Barcelona are on record as saying they want the player, and Sky Sports Spanish football expert Graham Hunter told talkSPORT that Barca share the lead in the race for his signature:

"

The leading clubs, we are told from the people that run this player, are Chelsea and Barcelona. They have made the running, he is interested.

[But] Barcelona would have to buy him and loan him back to Juventus for a season, which is a huge risk.

"

Hunter also detailed in his recorded segment that Juventus sporting director Pavel Nedved has stated that the Catalans have made an approach.

As with Kovacic, Pogba's potential move would bring about a shake up in style for the Barca midfield.

This marauding powerhouse of a player with seemingly boundless energy keeps going like a miner at the coalface, grafting until he gets his reward.

Opinion may well be split as to whether he is the type of player to fit into Barca's particular way of playing, and at a proposed £80 million transfer fee, he would be a costly mistake if his time at the club didn't work out.

Eden Hazard

Kirsty Wigglesworth/Associated Press

Is Eden Hazard the best young midfielder in the world?

Of the five players on this list, Chelsea's Eden Hazard would undoubtedly be the most coveted but also the most unlikely transfer.

For a start, Jose Mourinho would surely never countenance a sale to Barcelona, and it's anyone's guess as to what Hazard's cost would be.

All of that said, this is football, a sport in which we all know that anything can, and often does, happen.

The CIES Football Observatory rates Hazard as European football's best attacking midfielder, and anyone who has watched Chelsea play this season would be unlikely to disagree.

He has 17 goals and 10 assists to his name in all competitions this season, per WhoScored, so his contribution isn't in question.

Allied to a stunning array of finely honed skills, balance and purpose, Hazard could significantly improve upon Iniesta's offering.