Rakitic silences Man City rumours
Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic has agreed a new multi-year deal to extend his stay at Camp Nou, according to the reports from Spanish journal Sport (via IB Times). Barcelona are yet to make an official statement on Rakitic's new deal but according to Sport, Catalan side are awaiting the result of their Champions League return leg result against PSG before making the announcement.
Barcelona were humiliated 4-0 by PSG and Luis Enrique's men are almost out of the competition. Despite the poor result, Enrique will be delighted to hear Rakitic extending his stay at the club after the Croatian was heavily linked with a summer move to Manchester City.
Cedric latest to be linked with Barcelona
Barcelona are ready to offer €15million for Southampton's in-form full-back, Cedric Soares according to latest reports from the Daily Telegraph. The report claims that the reigning Spanish Champions are desperate to find a replacement for Aleix Vidal, who has been ruled out for rest of the season with a dislocated ankle.
Names like Jose Bosingwa were linked with a move to Camp Nou, however, manager Luis Enrique is keen to bring a long-term solution for the right-back slot. Cedric has been in fine form for Southampton this season and has been linked with a move to La Liga for last 6 months now.
Despite Southampton’s unwillingness to sell the 25-year-old, Barcelona are aware that a €15m bid will be enough to enter the negotiations for the Portuguese international, who played a key role in his country’s Euro 2016 success, earlier this season.
Aleix Vidal is a summer target for Chelsea
According to the latest reports from AS (via Sky Sports), Chelsea are linked with a summer move for the injured Barcelona full-back Aleix Vidal. The report claims that Blues manager Antonio Conte is looking to revamp the squad next season with full-back area being his priority.
Players like Alex Sandro and Faouzi Ghoulam are already linked with a move to Stamford Bridge, however, Vidal is most likely to join given his recent injury scares. According to reports, Barcelona are ready to sign a replacement in the summer and let Vidal leave for anything over €15million.
Sampaoli remains coy on Barcelona talks
Sevilla coach Jorge Sampaoli is flattered that his club has offered him a one-year contract extension but says he is only focusing on the present. Sevilla have been forced into giving Sampaoli the new deal after the Argentine has been linked with the high-profile job at Barcelona next season.
Sampaoli is fully aware of Barcelona’s interest in him but is remaining coy and is not prepared to comment anything on his future.
In a recent interview with Sevilla’s official website, Sampaoli said: "The fact that the club is considering extending my contract makes me happy and I value it. I'm delighted and flattered that the valuation levels are such but right now the only thing that I want is to live the present.”
