The attempt to replace Xavi approaches 300m euros LaLiga - Barcelona Arthur Melo is just the latest potential heir

Three years have passed since Xavi left Barcelona to move to Qatar and the Blaugrana still haven't been able to fill the void left by the former captain.

Titles have continued to be won, but the style of football isn't the same.

This isn't through lack of trying, though, as Barcelona have already spent 265.25 million euros on midfielders and they are targeting another in this summer's market.

Arda Turan, Andre Gomes, Denis Suarez, Paulinho, Philippe Coutinho and Arthur Melo have all arrived since the Spain World Cup winner departed to join existing players like Sergio Busquets, Andres Iniesta and Ivan Rakitic, but they haven't been able to make Barcelona fans forget the club legend.

Paulinho and Coutinho did the best in their attempts to make Barcelona's midfield strong again, yet neither plays in the same way and the former has already left to return to the Chinese Super League.

Turan and Gomes, on the other hand, have failed to live up to expectations, while Suarez continues to await a lengthy run in the side to show if he has what it takes to follow Xavi's footsteps.

Arthur Melo, who has just arrived from Gremio, is the sixth signing and hasn't yet had a chance to prove if he can move the Catalan club back to the style of old, the one that dominated European football.

He has been compared to Xavi because of his collective play and ability to create space, but it remains to be seen if he'll deliver on the Camp Nou pitch.

Arthur, though, should be joined by another new midfield arrival this summer, considering there's also now a need to try to replace Iniesta.

The club directors are working to bring in another midfielder and there are a number of names being linked with the LaLiga champions, with Adrien Rabiot and Frenkie de Jong the two who are most favoured.

The latter seems to be the more attainable option, but the current state of the transfer market means that whoever is signed will likely cost more than 30m euros, taking the midfield spending of the post-Xavi era towards a total of 300m euros.