Juventus and Inter Milan keen on signing Barcelona star - Reports

Juventus and Inter Milan are reportedly set to clash for Barcelona's Riqui Puig. The 21-year-old midfielder has not played much this season and the Catalan club are willing to sell him in the summer.

According to Calciomercato, Barcelona are open to selling their talented midfielder to a Serie A club this summer. Juventus and Inter Milan have shown interest and will fight it out for the Spaniard as per the report.

🗣️ Riqui Puig: “I owe everything to this club who saw me grow and formed me as a person, they owe me nothing. I’ve promised my dad that I’ll make it here and take advantage of every opportunity I get." pic.twitter.com/cQmhV2k79N

— Barça Worldwide (@BarcaWorldwide) April 25, 2021

Riqui Puig is believed to be one of the best talents to come out of La Masia but Ronald Koeman has not used him a lot. The Barcelona manager wants the midfielder to head out on loan this season. He had been linked with Ajax as well.

However, Riqui Puig chose to reject loan offers and fight for his place at Barcelona. Things have not gone well and he has made just three starts this season – two in LaLiga and one in Copa del Rey.

Ronald Koeman on Barcelona's Riqui Puig

Riqui Puig has not been in Ronald Koeman's plans and the manager is also not happy with the youngster rejecting loan moves. He has handed Ilaix Moriba his debut at Barcelona but has still not used Puig as much as he wanted.

• Ilaix Moriba has gained Ronald Koeman's trust. The youngster has become the perfect wildcard to rotate in the midfield.• Moriba has appeared in 8 consecutive league matches and has left behind Riqui Puig and Miralem Pjanić.#FCB 🇪🇸Via: @sport pic.twitter.com/Ca5pOctrk7

— Barça Buzz (@Barca_Buzz) April 26, 2021

Speaking of Riqui Puig earlier this season, Koeman had said:

"Maybe Riqui needs to be more physical, but I like players that try to improve every day and take their chances to improve with both hands. In that position (midfield) there is a lot of competition, but maybe in training he doesn't do enough to make the coach change his way of thinking. These days it's not just about quality, you need many other things, too." [H/T Sport]

"I have nothing against Riqui Puig. We have very young players like Konrad, Matheus and Junior who don't have many minutes, but you always think I'm talking about Riqui. I have no problem with him, we talk often. His future? He has to decide." [H/T Goal]

Juventus got Arthur from Barcelona last summer but the Brazilian has not managed to seal his place in the starting XI. They are not looking for a replacement and see Puiq as the ideal one.