Barcelona chief confirms Aleix Vidal staying as contract talks with Lionel Messi are on track

Barcelona technical secretary Robert Fernandez has suggested that the La Liga giants will not make any business before the end of the current January transfer window after confirming that Aleix Vidal is ready to continue at the Nou Camp. Meanwhile, the club chief has revealed that they expect all Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Ivan Rakitic, Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi to sign new deals in the near future as the negotiations with the Argentina international are "going very well."

The Catalans were reportedly interested in bolstering the right-back role during the current transfer window after Vidal fell out of favour with manager Luis Enrique during the first part of the season, being restricted to only one La Liga appearances until December.

But it looks that Bacelona have changed those plans after earlier this month top target Darijo Srna ruled out a move to the Nou Camp to stay at Shakhtar Donetsk.

Vidal's situation has since suffered a U-turn as the 27-year-old wing-back has played a part in the last two La Liga victories over Las Palmas and Eibar, scoring a goal against the first one while providing an assist after coming from the bench in the weekend's 4-0 win over the Basque side.

Barcelona CEO Oscar Grau had previous revealed that the La Liga giants won't sign any players unless someone leaves and Fernandez has now suggested that his will be the case. Yet he confirmed that Vidal will continue at the Nou Camp until the end of the season – and that the club don't plan to make any otherdeal in the coming days despite speculations linking other starts like Arda Turan with big money move to China.

"I don't think (there will be any movement in January). Aleix Vidal stays. Yes, (I can confirm that)," the Barcelona technical secretary told Rac 1. "It's true that he has had a difficult start to the season. It's difficult to explain because has not played but playing at Barcelona is difficult because we have a very good team. There was a very good squad last season and we were lucky to sign good players during the summer. That has increased the competition but I am happy, and the manager is happy with the reaction he has had. So I don't think about the possibility of him leaving. Indeed I can clearly confirm that Vidal is staying with us."

Yet, rather than strengthening the current squad, Barcelona current priority is to commit the long-term future of ter Stegen, Rakitic, Iniesta and Messi to the Nou Camp with new deals after they have done the same in recent months with Neymar, Luis Suarez, Javier Mascherano and Sergio Busquets.

In this sense, Fernandez sends an encouraging message to the Barcelona fans after suggesting that the negotiations with Messi are on track.

"Leo has reached a point where it seems like he plays better than three or five years ago. He gets better all the time. He can pull a rabbit from the hat at any moment and in any situation on the pitch. If we did a survey among the fans and we'd ask if Messi is better now or two or three years ago, maybe they say that they prefer this Leo," the chief said. "Leo is the best player in the world. There is no doubt. He is proving it every year. I've been close to [Diego] Maradona, [Johan] Cruyff, [Alfredo] Di Stefano... but Leo is different. Leo is capable of doing well for many years."

"The renovation is going well, very well. I'm very relaxed, as I was before with Mascherano, Busquets, Suarez or Neymar. And I am now with Marc, Ivan, Andres and Leo. We're working and I'm convinced that the four players will continue with Barca. It doesn't matter much who will be the first to renew. There will be people who want to poison the situation, but we've been working on this issue for a long time."

Luis Enrique's future at the club is also under scrutiny as he is out of contract in the summer. However, the boss has asked the club to delay the decision until the end of the season Fernandez insists that they won't put any pressure on him.

"I want to give Luis Enrique a lot of peace," Fernandez said. "I know him very well and he will decide when he'll tell the president or me (whether he wants to stay)."