Barcelona 'monitoring' new Marcelo Guilherme Arana amid Lucas Digne uncertain future

Barcelona are said to be closely monitoring the development of Corinthians starlet Guilherme Arana ahead of making a future move to lure him to the Nou Camp.

Spanish publication Sport liken the Brazilian left-back to Real Madrid ace Marcelo and says that the Catalans have been impressed by his rise since discovering him in the Under-20 South American championships played in Ecuador.

Atletico Madrid and Sevilla have previously been linked with his services during the summer transfer window.

Diego Simeone was at the time looking for a young player to serve as a back-up Filipe Luis after losing Theo Hernandez to Real.

Marca recently reported that Sevilla planned to make a new effort to sign him in January but were put off by Corinthians' demands, with the Brazilian side asking for in excess of €20m to part ways with his services.

Sport says that Barcelona are now considering joining the race as Corinthians may need to cash in on with him in the coming January transfer window due to their current financial issues.

Furthermore, the Spanish publication says that the Brazilian side only own 40% of Arana's rights so they will eventually be force to sell him either in January or in the summer.

Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde already has two left-backs in his squad in the form of Jordi Alba and Lucas Digne.

However, Sport points out that the Frenchman could be shown the exit door at the end of the current season after having failed to make the impact expected during his first 18 months at the Nou Camp.

The 24-year-old was brought from Paris Saint-Germain in a deal worth €16.5m plus add-ons with hopes he could provide competition for Alba in the left-back.

But Digne has only served as a back-up since them, with his only starting appearances coming when the Spain international has been unavailable.