Juventus willing to sacrifice star winger in exchange of Barcelona man
Juventus are in talks with Barcelona regarding a swap deal involving Ivan Rakitic.
The future of Ivan Rakitic at Barcelona is once again up in the air with reports claiming that Juventus are interested in the Croatian midfielder.
According to Diario Sport, Juventus are proposing a swap deal that would see the Croatian join the Italian giants with Federico Bernardeschi going the other way.
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Mundo Deportivo report that with the firing of Ernesto Valverde and the arrival of Quique Setien, Rakitic’s role on the team is in doubt.
Especially with Arturo Vidal seemingly jumping ahead of him in the pecking order.
Juventus’ interest in Rakitic is nothing new as they wanted him prior to the start of the season.
In fact, an agreement between Rakitic and Juventus was in place but they failed to reach one with Barcelona.
The deal back then also involved a swap for the same player but the Catalans wanted to receive a transfer fee.
At the time, Valverde did not feel he needed Bernardeschi because they had more than enough players in his position.
Again, with Setien now in charge and with the injury to Luis Suarez, Bernardeschi might be a player he could deem useful. It would allow him to experiment either in attack or midfield.
Juventus are interested in Rakitic because they believe he would add needed experience in midfield. Adrien Rabiot has yet to settle with the team and feel Rakitic would help them in their title race against Inter Milan.
Bernardeschi has been in and out of the squad under Maurizio Sarri and the manager would approve including him in a proposed swap deal.
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Whether or not Setien counts on Rakitic will depend on who he chooses to play against Granada. While it won’t be a definitive answer, it will give an indication on exactly where Rakitic stands.