Barcelona and Arsenal are both tracking the future of AC Milan left-back Ricardo Rodriguez, with the defender's future in Italy uncertain due to the imminent arrival of Theo Hernandez.
Rodriguez has been with Milan since 2017, joining from Wolfsburg for around €18m and has gone on to score four goals in 87 appearances for the Rossoneri.
With Frenchman Hernandez set to join the Serie A outfit from Real Madrid in a €20m deal, however, it leaves Rodriguez likely to be shown the exit door after Sport claimed the Swiss international will 'need' to be sold.
The report states that due to Barcelona's ongoing attempts to sign Neymar, they have had to reevaluate their strategy this window after initially having their priorities set on a top quality left-back. With finances now stretched, La Blaugrana have turned their attention towards the 26-year-old, who would be available for around €15m, a far more reasonable sum.
Ernesto Valverde's side have targeted a number of left-backs already, with Junior Firpo of Real Betis deemed too expensive and Atletico Madrid's Filipe Luis too old. Meanwhile, a deal couldn't be struck with Borussia Dortmund for Raphael Guerreiro.
In turn, Rodriguez fits the bill for La Blaugrana, still being relatively young and not costing over the odds to sign.
However, the La Liga champions face competition from Arsenal, who are also interested as their pursuit of Kieran Tierney appears to have stalled. Therefore, it would appear the Gunners are keeping their options open in case a move for the Scottish defender fails to materialise.
Barça have already asked Milan about Rodriguez's situation though, but refused to commit to making an offer as of yet with their interest still in its infancy.
Source :
90min
