Reports: Chelsea to hijack Barcelona's deal for £44 million Brazilian in January

What's the story?

Ah, the January transfer window! With that miracle-healer of all blues within touching distance, rumour mills across Europe are back to working at fever pitch. This particular one comes from the stables of the Mirror and they've got news that could sour the happiness of Barcelona fans across the board.

After having impressed all suitors with some sumptuous football in the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A and the Copa Libertadores for Gremio (4th and champions, respectively), Arthur Henrique Ramos de Oliveira Melo, or Arthur, has attracted the attentions of both Barcelona and Chelsea, and there's been a recent development that might just work in the favour of the London club.

In case you didn't know

The development that seems to have soured relations between Gremio and Barcelona was the surfacing of a photo of Arthur wearing a Barca shirt and posing with the Catalan's representative Andre Cury.

Arthur, seen here in a Barcelona jersey (image courtesy, Albert Jorge)

Gremio were furious, labelling the Catalans' conduct "unprecedented" and insisted that they wouldn't negotiate with them now.

The heart of the matter

Chelsea, sensing an opening, are keen to move in hijack the possible deal for the 21-year-old who has a £44 million release clause in his contract. A player built in the model of the classic Spanish midfielder, Chelsea eye him as a long-time replacement of Cesc Fabregas and a major part of Antonio Conte's continued commitment to lowering the average age of his squad.

Gremio vice-president Odorico Roman confirmed that a number of clubs were interested in his star saying “I’d say it’s rare to find midfielders of Arthur’s level in the world right now. There is a €50m release clause, but if a club really wanted to sign him, they’d have to send us a proposal. We would evaluate and decide whether to accept or not."

Video

Arthur's passing and vision have caught the eye, and here's evidence of it:

Lad can play, eh?

Author's Take

Arthur had his say on the whole thing - "On the Barcelona matter, they did speak with me. We had a meeting, but I want to say that there’s nothing final.“Nothing has been defined and I did not sign anything. I am a Gremio player.” - and it remains to be seen if Chelsea can twist his attentions away from Barca.