Barcelona's desire to reinforce their midfield is no kept secret, and reports emerging on Sunday claim they are inching ever closer to landing one of their main targets. The source of this claim is Mundo Deportivo, with the Spanish outlet writing that the man in the Blaugrana's radar has resolved to move to Camp Nou.
That man is none other than Adrien Rabiot, the young and talented French midfielder that has grown to become a huge star at PSG. The Catalan side has made attempts to land him over the summer, but his Ligue 1 employers understandably refused to entertain the idea of selling him.
However, things are not playing in Les Parisiens' favor. The 23-year-old has entered the final year of his Parc des Princes contract and Barcelona is thus confident of landing him as a free agent when it expires next summer.
The defending Spanish Primera Division champion is aware of the interest in Rabiot. Several other European giants would jump at the opportunity to sign him for free, but the prospect of playing at Camp Nou excites the midfielder and it is for this reason that Valverde and Co. are not worried about losing out on his services to another club.
One thing that could be a problem for Barcelona is PSG's desire to retain the player due to his talent and number of years ahead of him. The French outfit will likely go all out to agree on an extension next month and hand him a wage package eclipsing Barcelona's $12M-a-year offer.
However, the Spanish side knows they can do little about this except for keeping close contact with the player. Eric Abidal is the man charged with that task, as he has kept a direct line with the midfielder and his mother.
The groundwork has been laid for this deal; however, nothing official can be pulled off yet. Official negotiations can begin in three months time and Barcelona will move swiftly to wrap up his signing, given that the status quo has not changed between now and then.
