3 Reasons Why Manchester United Must Consider Signing Rakitic In January

#1. Situation at Barcelona

Rakiticć in the FC Barcelona v RCD Mallorca La Liga fixture

As per the words of Barcelona legend Xavi, “Rakitic is one of the best signings Barça have made in their history.” His words ring true when we look at Rakitic’s performances for Barcelona over the last 5 years. He has made significant contributions to Barcelona’s on-field success and won 4 LaLiga titles and one UCL during his time. But things have been quite different this season.

It could easily be argued that on paper, Barcelona have one of the strongest squads in the world. In the last few years, there has been a shift in the Barça philosophy too, mostly owing to the club president Josep Maria Bartomeu who seems to be adamant about doing one better over his Real Madrid counterpart Florentino Pérez. Just like Pérez was once obsessed with signing galacticos, Bartomeu has assembled a really galactico-esque squad.

Be it the midfield, goal, defense, or attack, Barcelona have the most well-stocked squad. In midfield, Rakitić competes with the likes of Sergio Busquets, Arthur Melo, and the sensation Frenkie de Jong. Even on the bench, there are quality players like Arturo Vidal and Carles Aleñá probably ahead of him in the pecking order. This is uncharted territory for Rakitić, who has always been a crucial cog in the Barcelona machinery.

With Valverde unlikely to drop younger players like Arthur and de Jong for Rakitic and Busquets clearly a valuable deputy for Barcelona, it doesn’t look like things might change anytime soon. The only way ahead is to seek a transfer during the upcoming January transfer window. Rakitic is aware of it and that could explain his recent public comments, which are quite uncharacteristic of him. Luckily for him, even Barcelona are willing to do business with any club interested, provided their valuation of about £30 million is met.