Barcelona right-back, Aleix Vidal, has been linked with a move to the Premier League but can only leave the club in the summer. Having failed to make it into the first team ever since signing from Sevilla last summer, the 27-year-old is set for a move away from the Camp Nou.
Having already lost Dani Alves this summer on a free to Juventus, Barcelona were expected to field Vidal as the natural replacement in the squad but Luis Enrique isn't convinced by what the Spaniard has to offer and has since promoted youth product Sergi Roberto to fill in the void before tackling the issue in the winter transfer window.
Vidal is said to have a host of offers on the table with Premier League duo Southampton and Swansea interested. Ligue 1 giants Olympique Marseille and Milanese duo AC Milan and Inter Milan are also said to be closely monitoring his situation at the Camp Nou.
The 27-year-old was expected to be allowed to leave in the upcoming winter transfer window but having been used by the Catalan club in the UEFA Champions League and Copa Del Rey, his choices to join a new 'top level’ club were cut drastically.
And Vidal is said to be adamant that should he leave the club, he'll leave only on a permanent transfer and not on a loan. This insistence is also part of why Barcelona are willing to wait for the summer to decide on his future. They value the 27-year-old at around €14 million but that could drop to €10 million in the summer.
Having played with Barcelona and Real Madrid as a youngster, Vidal was brought to the club he always had the dream of playing for by Luis Enrique. But with only five appearances for the club in all competition, it's not hard to see why he's angling for a move away.
The club have been linked with a host of names as his replacement in recent weeks. The prime target being their former boy and current Arsenal superstar Hector Bellerin. The 21-year-old signed a new long-term at the club a few months ago and is reportedly uninterested in going back to the club that gave him his big break.
Apart from Bellerin, Barcelona are also targeting Napoli's Elseid Hysaj and Sassuolo's Sime Vrsaljko. The former, however, signed a new contract at the club recently and could prove to be costly – but a worthy – replacement should Barcelona splash the cash.
