Arsenal agree deal for Barcelona superstar, Liverpool agree deal for Manchester City transfer target and more: Transfer Roundup, 29 January 2019

Chelsea prepare £58 million bid for Ivan Rakitic with Manchester United also interested

As per Diario Sport, Chelsea are preparing to launch a £58 million bid to sign Ivan Rakitic. The report claims that Chelsea's Premier League rivals Manchester United are also keeping tabs on the Croatian international.

Rakitic had earlier insisted that he wants to stay at the Nou Camp despite multiple reports linking him with a move away from the club. Rakitic's current contract at Barcelona is set to run out in 2021 and the Cules are not intending to offer him a new deal any time soon.

Rakitic said at Mundo Deportivo's annual gala,

"I want to be at Barcelona and, if I can renew my contract, I want to be here for many more years,"

"I am really happy here, everyone knows that, above all the president [Josep Maria Bartomeu]. I don't have anything else to say [about my future]."

Frenkie De Jong's arrival from Ajax on a reported £75 million deal is set to intensify the competition for a midfield spot at Barcelona and with age not on his side, Rakitic's future might lie away from Barceona.

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 Sripad