Mascherano, Turan, Rafinha and Vidal among six players who could leave Barcelona in January
KEY POINTS
- Barcelona completed the signing of Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool last week.
- Denis Suarez and Deulofeu are also on the list of players that could leave the club in January.
Barcelona's capture of Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool and the imminent arrival of Yerry Mina from Palmeiras now has the club focused on the outgoings during the ongoing January transfer window.
The Catalan giants could oversee a number of departures in various positions as they look to boost their coffers and allow players, not in manager Ernesto Valverde's plans to find regular football elsewhere.
Coutinho's arrival in a club-record £142m ($192m, €161m) deal has put a number of attacking midfielder's future in doubt with Denis Suarez, Rafinha Alacantra and Arda Turan facing uncertain futures. The trio have struggled for regular game time and the Brazil international's arrival is certain to further limit their time on the pitch this season.
Suarez is the only player among the aforementioned trio to have featured under Valverde this campaign. He has made 16 appearances in all competition contributing with three goals and six assists.
Rafinha and Turan, on the other hand, have not made even a single appearance this campaign and are unlikely to do so unless regular members of the first-team are sidelined with injuries. The former has been out of action for the last 266 days with a meniscus injury and only returned to training at the end of December last year. The latter also missed games through injury but was not considered for selection even fully fit, suggesting that he is not in the manager's plans.
The Brazil international has been given medical clearance to return to training and play, and with regular football not guaranteed at the Camp Nou, other clubs have contacted the current La Liga leaders to take him on loan. Celta Vigo, where Rafinha has spent time on loan are keen to sign him but are aware that they could lose out another club.
"We are in contact with Rafinha. There are options and we want to advance them in the coming days," Vigo sporting director Felipe Minambres said, as quoted by Spanish publication Sport.
Suarez, meanwhile, is being tracked by the Serie A leaders Napoli, who are said to be keen to sign the attacking midfielder during the January transfer window. According to a separate report from Sport, the Italian club's president Aurelio di Laurentis has backed the move for the Spain Under-21 international, but their first proposal has been rejected by Barcelona.
Apart from the trio, another attacking player, who is facing a potential exit is right winger Gerard Deulofeu. Inter Milan are said to be keen to sign him, while his former club AC Milan are also in the race.
Barcelona are also looking at changes on the defensive side with Javier Mascherano and Aleix Vidal edging towards the exit doors at the Camp Nou. The Spanish giants have already replaced the former with reports suggesting the imminent capture of centre-back Mina from Palmeiras.
The Colombia international is expected to arrive before the end of the month when Mascherano is likely to complete his move to the Chinese Super League. Hebei Fortune have been touted as his potential destination after falling out of favour at Barcelona this season.
Vidal, meanwhile, has struggled to live up to expectations after being signed from Sevilla as a potential long-term replacement for Dani Alves. He has started just three La Liga games this season with Valverde preferring Sergi Roberto at right-back in most games this season.
According to Sport, Sevilla are interested in re-signing the player on loan, but Barcelona are looking for a more permanent solution. They are willing to allow him to leave for €10m but are yet to receive any concrete offers.
The report claims that the club will retain him until the summer if no offers arrive and re-visit the situation at the end of the campaign.