Liverpool are plotting a move for Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic. According to various sources, the Reds are going head to head with Arsenal in pursuit of the Croatian midfielder whose future with the Catalans looks uncertain following the arrival of Phillipe Coutinho at the Nou Camp. After a long chase over the summer, Barcelona was finally able to capture their Brazilian target Coutinho from Liverpool in a deal worth £142m on Saturday evening. However, the arrival of the Brazilian may force Rakitic out of the Nou Camp.
The Croatian has managed to feature regularly for Barca ever since arriving from Sevilla in the summer of 2014 and has managed to help his team win the La Liga twice as well as capturing another Champions League during that time. However, recent sources in the Spanish press are claiming that both the Reds of Merseyside and the Gunners of North London are ready to pounce on the midfielder’s signature with the 29-year-old potentially finding himself in the bench following Coutinho’s arrival.
The Barcelona midfield has been in fine form this season with Andreas Iniesta, Sergio Busquets and Paulinho the picks of the bunch. So there is a real chance that Rakitic would be left out in the cold if he doesn’t switch clubs in January.
The Croatian is believed to be looking for a move away from the Nou Camp but would only consider his options after the 2018 FIFA World Cup at Russia which is set to kickoff in June this year. In a recent interview, Rakitic weighed in on his verdict of the Coutinho transfer and stated,
“Every good player is welcome, I congratulate the president and everyone who has made it possible for us to be here,”
“We welcome him as one more, he is one of the family, we all know him, we are going to enjoy him a lot.
“Every good player is welcome and we will all fight for the goals, no matter my opinion about the price, it’s gone up a bit, but it’s the market that decides where to move, but it’s the biggest club in the world.
“We wanted another player to come, one who is among the best.
“He can not play the Champions League, but that was already known, he will help us in La Liga and hopefully in the cup.
“But we have to give him time, we will give him affection.”
Liverpool are currently in 4th place in the league table and are in dire need of a replacement for Coutinho to help their chances of securing Champions League football for next season. Rakitic has struggled this season for Barcelona but his record for the La Liga giants in the last few years has been impressive, to say the least with the midfielder scoring 26 goals and making 26 assists in 187 appearances for his club.
Although the Reds would require a more creative player in the long-term, the addition of Rakitic could turn out to be a temporary fix to Jurgen Klopp’s squad which is crying out for some creativity in the midfield after Coutinho’s departure.
