Djibril Sidibe agrees new Monaco deal after being identified by Barcelona as Bellerin alternative

Barcelona can cross another player off their list of summer right-back targets after confirmation that Djibril Sidibe has agreed fresh terms with AS Monaco. The 10-cap France international is now under contract until 2022 after penning a new five-year deal at the Stade Louis II on Thursday (13 July).

News of that extension will come as a blow to Barcelona, with the La Liga giants said to have identified Sidibe as a potential alternative to Benfica defender Nelson Semedo after abandoning their attempts to secure a return to the Nou Camp of Arsenal's La Masia graduate Hector Bellerin.

The Blaugrana are reported to have sent a transfer delegation to Portugal to wrap up a deal for Semedo, for whom they have tabled a bid worth approximately €30m (£26.4m, $34.1m).

While the Portuguese is evidently new manager Ernesto Valverde's chief target, Catalan daily Sport report that Sidibe was also being considered.

Barcelona deployed midfielder Sergi Roberto at right-back for the majority of Luis Enrique's final season in charge, with Dani Alves having left for Juventus and Aleix Vidal hampered by a serious ankle injury. However, the club are evidently now eager to address that problem position.

"The risk of going to a big club is that they turn you into a reserve and you end up loaned out, it's tricky," Sidibe told French radio station RMC back in March. "My criteria is to do with playing time. If a club, of the kind you can't reject, guarantees you playing time, I'd think about it."

Sidibe's commitment - plus that of rumoured Tottenham Hotspur target Kamil Glik - should provide some relief for Ligue 1 winners and Champions League semi-finalists Monaco during a summer in which their ranks look set to be significantly and predictably depleted.

Bernardo Silva has already departed for Manchester City and Tiemoue Bakayoko is expected to finally seal his move to Chelsea on Friday. Teenage sensation Kylian Mbappe continues to be linked heavily with a number of European football's biggest clubs, while Arsenal appear relentless in their pursuit of Thomas Lemar.

Meanwhile, Benjamin Mendy is likely to join Silva at the Etihad Stadium and Fabinho seems set to join Atletico Madrid in January. In a bid to counteract that potentially lengthy list of high-profile sales, Leonardo Jardim has already moved to secure the signings of Youri Tielemans, Terence Kongolo, Soualiho Meite, Diego Benaglio, Jordi Mboula and Jordy Gaspar.

Barcelona have made a quiet start to the window by contrast, only snapping up former loanee Marlon Santos and exercising their buy-back option on Gerard Deulofeu. Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Marco Verratti still tops their wishlist, while the club have also been pursuing Guangzhou Evergrande's Paulinho.