Barcelona superstar to join Premier League side in the coming hours, Manchester United superstar's agent holds talks with Barcelona and more: Barcelona transfer roundup, 29 January 2019

Chelsea prepare summer move for Ivan Rakitic

Ivan Rakitic could leave the Camp Nou in the summer

As per the Spanish publication Sport, Barcelona midfielder Rakitic could be set for an explosive exit in the summer as Chelsea are eyeing up a move for the Croatian World Cup finalist.

The arrival of Frenkie De Jong has intensified competition for a starting berth in Barcelona's midfield. Barcelona are expected to add Adrien Rabiot to their roster in the summer. As such, an ageing Rakitic will find playing time difficult to come by.

Ivan Rakitic was a subject of interest to Paris Saint-Germain in the summer and after being linked extensively with a move away, the Croat decided to stay put at the Camp Nou and concentrate on his football.

The Catalans are aware that Rakitic will have great options on the table should he chose to leave in the summer. Apart from Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal have also been credited with an interest in the player.

About the author

Shambhu is a European and international football journalist at Sportskeeda who focuses on previews, listicles and news articles. An ardent Manchester United supporter since before his teenage years, he started following the Red Devils by age 10 watching MUTV on television. Shambhu is also a highly-revered rapper and a playback singer on Spotify, having a whopping 1 million monthly listeners.

For his articles, Shambhu believes in triple-checking every piece of information, relying on trusted websites like Transfermarkt and Opta, and staying away from speculative publications. He believes that his law degree helped him to be more articulate and meticulous with his content and one of his core strengths is seamlessly involving emotion in his write-ups owing to the love for the sport. For Sportskeeda, has done exclusive interviews with Spanish legends Gaizka Mendieta and Fernando Morientes so far, and his articles boast of a huge readership of close to 50 million.

Shambhu's favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and the Argentine attaining glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment. He believes only Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland could replicate Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's rivalry in the years to come. His favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson due to the Scot's unmatched longevity at the top.

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Edited by Ananthu Anil