Barcelona transfer news: Serie A star dismisses links, Messi wants Belgian superstar and more

Inter's Milan Skriniar dismisses transfer links

FC Internazionale v UC Sampdoria - Serie A — Skriniar dismisses Barcelona speculation

The 22-year old defender has been a defensive rock in Inter's superb season so far and is a vital cog in Luciano Spalletti's side. No wonder, his performances caught the attention of European heavyweights, Barcelona and Real Madrid, who are looking for defensive reinforcements.

However, Skriniar has come out to squash the rumours and went ahead to rule out any possible move to Premier League champions Chelsea as well. He told Sky Sport Italia after his side's win over Atalanta over the weekend:

"If I leave the next season? No, it won’t happen. I will stay in Milan.”

The Blaugrana have been monitoring the player for quite some time now but a move looks difficult at this stage with his agent Karol Csonto reiterating the player's stance. Karol spoke about the situation in the beginning of the month by saying:

“It can’t happen. He has his head on his shoulders and a great personality, it’s impossible for him to change teams. I’m very happy with the impact he’s had with Inter.”

Thus, the Slovakian along with his agent have denied any chances of a move but one can only wonder whether the player will turn down the opportunity when an actual bid lands on the table.

Messi wants Eden Hazard at Barcelona

West Bromwich Albion v Chelsea - Premier League — Eden Hazard is one of the best players in Europe

Real Madrid's boss Zinedine Zidane was reportedly interested in bringing the Chelsea superstar to the Bernabeu in the summer. While Hazard was rumoured to be interested in moving to Spain, the deal did not go through and things returned to normal for Antonio Conte as he held on to his best player. Now, recent reports in Spain have indicated a cooling of interest from Real Madrid.

However, even before the London club can breathe a sigh of relief, Madrid's arch-rivals Barcelona have been urged by Lionel Messi to sign the player, as per Don Balon. The Argentine wants his club to take advantage of Madrid's shift in priorities to nab the world-class Belgian.

Reportedly, Messi is a huge fan of the 26-year old's skill set and believes he will fit in well at Barcelona. Hazard is primarily a left winger and he definitely possesses the ability to create, score and wreak havoc from the wings similar to the departed Neymar.

However, the two-time Premier League winner at Chelsea is also the London club's biggest superstar and the club will do everything in their power to hold on to the player. Nevertheless, Hazard is the type of player Barcelona should definitely target if they hope to rebuild while retaining their stature.

Barcelona monitoring Henry Onyekuru

RSC Anderlecht v Paris Saint-Germain - UEFA Champions League — Onyekuru is currently on loan at Anderlecht from Everton

The Nigerian is currently on Premier League club Everton's payroll after the Toffees snapped up the talented forward from Belgian club Eupen for £7 million. The 20-year old scored 22 league goals for Eupen in the 2016-17 Belgian First Division A season, which was a season-high.

The Merseyside club bought the player and loaned him back to another Belgian club Anderlecht for this season. Such talent at a young age is not bound to go unnoticed and several clubs are now monitoring the player, as per reports. Barcelona are one of them and the Catalan club sent scouts to watch the player over the weekend, as per Daily Post Nigeria. The player did not disappoint as he netted his seventh goal of the campaign.

Now, the Spanish side have to ward off competition to sign Onyekuru with English giants Manchester United interested in the player as well. Onyekuru has starred for Anderlecht in the UEFA Champions League group stages and made his international debut this month.

Onyekuru is definitely a talented player and it remains to be seen whether he can turn down an offer from Ernesto Valverde's side when it arrives in 2018.