Barcelona 'reiginite' pursuit of Gremio starlet Arthur with hopes of completing £21.9m signing

Barcelona are said to have reignited their pursuit of rumoured Manchester United and Chelsea target Arthur Melo ahead of securing the services of the Gremio midfielder during the upcoming summer transfer window.

Mundo Deportivo claims that the 21-year-old has already been given the green light to make the move to the Nou Camp and the La Liga giants now hope to agree a deal with the Brazilian outfit for around €25m (£21.9m, $30.9m).

United, Chelsea and Real Madrid have also been linked with the player but the Spanish publication claims that Barcelona would be ready to allow Arthur to spend one more season on loan at Gremio in order to secure the signing.

Reports linking Arthur with a move to Ernesto Valverde's side began earlier last month after it emerged that club technical secretary Robert Fernandez travelled to South America to watch him in action during the two-legged Copa Libertadores final between Gremio and Lanus.

Arthur produced a Man of the Match performance in the second leg to lead his side to a 3-1 aggregate victory and the speculation over a potential move to Barcelona swelled after a photograph showing Arthur wearing the Blaugrana shirt alongside Fernandez was leaked though social media.

The La Liga giants were forced to issue an apology after Gremio threatened them with legal action.

Marca then reported that Real were offered the chance to hijack the deal, with Gremio unwilling to sell the player to Barcelona.

The Catalan's interest in the player appeared to cool as they focused their attention on the January signings of Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool and Yerry Mina for Palmeiras.

The Daily Mail recently claimed that United and Chelsea are still closely monitoring the saga and could take advantage of the uncertain situation to join the race.

But Mundo Deportivo is now reporting that Barcelona have revived their pursuit after having identified Arthur and Antoine Griezmann as Valverde's two priorities for the upcoming summer transfer window.

Gremio have publicly stated that they don't want to negotiate the departure of Arthur and will demand his full €50m release clause.

However, the Spanish publication says that the Catalans are still hoping of landing a cut-price deal with Arthur having already agreed to move.

Furthermore, Mundo Deportivo says that the Barcelona are aware about the interest of other clubs but they would be ready to keep Athur on loan at Gremio for an additional season to sweeten the deal.