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Barcelona are reportedly working to sign a new central midfielder during the January transfer window, with Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Ruben Neves and Leicester City’s Youri Tielemans both options.
The Catalan outfit boosted their midfield with the arrival of Franck Kessie over the summer, but Sergio Busquets’s form this season has been criticised, and the Spaniard’s contract at Camp Nou is due to expire next June.
Frenkie de Jong has also struggled for starts amid the speculation surrounding his future, and it is still believed that the club want to move the Netherlands international on in 2023.
According to Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona are determined to sign a new midfielder in the winter transfer window, and Neves and Tielemans are two of the players being looked at.
Neves has again been a key player for Wolves this season, making 11 appearances in all competitions, while he still has another two years left to run on his contract at Molineux.
However, Wolves could be involved in a relegation battle in the Premier League this season, with a total of nine points from 11 matches leaving them in 17th spot in the table.
The 25-year-old was also linked with both Manchester United and Arsenal over the summer, but the transfer window closed with the Portugal international still at Molineux.
Tielemans, meanwhile, will see his contract at Leicester expire next June, meaning that he could be available for a cut-price fee during the winter market.
Leicester have also struggled this season, currently sitting bottom of the Premier League table, having picked up just five points from their opening 10 matches.
The Belgium international has featured on 11 occasions for Brendan Rodgers’s side this season, contributing one goal and one assist in the process.
The report claims that Chelsea duo Jorginho and N’Golo Kante are also on Barcelona’s shortlist, with the pair both out of contract at Stamford Bridge next summer.
However, Jorginho’s agent recently claimed that his client wants to sign a new deal at Stamford Bridge, while Kante has recently undergone a hamstring operation, which will rule him out for the next three to four months.
Barcelona have also been strongly linked with Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi, but the Spaniard has just signed a new contract with his Basque club until June 2027.
Speaking during his press conference on Wednesday, Barcelona head coach Xavi admitted that his job at Camp Nou is under threat due to some recent disappointing results.
Hector Bellerin is back in the squad for Thursday’s game with Villarreal after recovering from injury, but Andreas Christensen, Ronald Araujo and Memphis Depay remain on the sidelines.