5 midfielders likely to sign for a new club this summer

This summer has already seen one of the most surprising transfers take place with Ronaldo joining Juventus from Real Madrid. That being said, there is more to come in the few weeks left before the transfer window ends. Europe's biggest clubs are hunting to get equipped with the finest players available and in the process it will instigate a spree of transfers before the window closes.

We have already seen some big transfers take place with Jorginho joining Chelsea and Alisson Becker join Liverpool from Roma. Many of the top clubs would like to strengthen their squad especially by strengthening their midfield.

Also, some of the talented midfielders look ready for a change and a move to a different club this summer. We take a look at some of the finest midfielders available in the football world right now and practically where their future lies after the summer window ends and the 2018-19 season begins in full force.

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#5 Mateo Kovacic

The former Inter Milan midfielder was signed by Real Madrid when Rafa Benitez was in charge of the Los Blancos. The 24-year old was then signed for €30 million from the Italian club and since the Kovacic has gone on to make 109 appearances in three seasons for Madrid.

It has been difficult for him to get regular game time as the presence of Luka Modric, Toni Kroos and Casemiro has offered very little room for Kovacic to stand a chance to get a spot in the starting XI. Kovacic played 17 matches last season, assisting once, making more than 500 passes with a passing accuracy of 94%.

He was seen as an heir to Luka Modric as the Croatian soon turns 33 but the lack of game time has been frustrating for Kovacic and it is time he seeks to start more than often. A number of clubs seem to be interested in Kovacic with Juventus, Inter Milan, Arsenal, Roma, Spurs and Manchester United interested to get his signature.

It seems difficult that he will get regular game time at Juventus, Inter Milan and Manchester United but he can be optimistic with the other three clubs. Also, Real Madrid won’t make it easy for the clubs seeking Kovacic’s signature but in the end, it will all depend upon Kovacic as to where he would like to play.

#4 Adrien Rabiot

Barcelona are getting close to get Rabiot's signature

Rabiot has been the rising star for Paris Saint Germain ever since he joined their youth system in 2010. The 23-year old French midfielder has been a regular face with the senior team since 2012 and has always looked a great prospect on the pitch.

His passing on the pitch has been a delight to watch and has been found to link up well with his teammates. He can create playing deep in the midfield and can also make some incisive runs into the heart of defence with his take-ons.

Rabiot this summer has been a subject to a move away to Barcelona. Barcelona have already been linked with Chelsea’ s N’golo Kante but it looks like the Frenchman is heading to PSG which will instigate Rabiot to join the Catalan club.

Rabiot can be the player Barcelona fans expected Andre Gomes would be as he can play a very vital part in partnering Rakitic and Busquets in the midfield.

It seems that PSG will be looking for a fee around £36 million to let go Rabiot from his services and with the latest reports suggesting that terms have agreed between Rabiot and Barcelona, a move is very likely on the cards.

#3 Sergej Milinkovic Savic

The tall Serbian midfielder should be joining one of the European giants this summer

It is safe to say that Savic didn’t have the best of times at the 2018 World Cup. After earning a lot of plaudits for his performances at Lazio in the Serie A, Sergej Milinkovic Savic was expected to do big things for Serbia in Russia but unfortunately, it didn’t happen.

Nonetheless, that hasn’t affected his demand in the transfer market. Savic was very influential for Lazio last season. He scored 10 goals and assisted in three others in 31 appearances. Out of his 1255 passes last season, 972 have been forward passes which speaks a lot of his intent.

As expected, a number of suitors have lined up for his signature. Currently, Real Madrid and Chelsea are the two clubs showing more intent than the other clubs to sign Savic. At Madrid, Savic will face competition from Modric, Kroos and Casemiro which will surely not be an encouraging factor as he will be seeking regular game time.

This only makes him a better fit but the big question is if Savic is ready to play under Maurizio Sarri who hasn’t had much experience outside Italy and it will also mean that he will have to be ready to sacrifice playing in the Champions League for at least an entire season. It seems that a £130 million price tag has been set by Lazio for Savic, making it very interesting as to which club is willing to spend such an amount for a midfielder.

#2 Thiago Alcantara

Is a Barcelona return on the cards?

To be fair, Thiago is one of the smartest midfielders in the football world right now. His passing and creative abilities have developed greatly ever since he moved to Bayern Munich. It is unfortunate that we couldn’t see him performing much in the World Cup but nevertheless, the Spanish midfielder remains a classy player.

His nimble footwork and smart dribbling can be of help to any of the top clubs in Europe. It comes as a shock to hear that Bayern Munich are willing to sell the former Barcelona man as the Spaniard has expressed his desire to return back to Camp Nou.

It was surprising when Thiago left Barcelona to join Bayern and it is only right that the Barcelona fans get to see him rock the midfield especially after Andres Iniesta’s departure last season.

Manchester United were interested in signing Thiago five years ago and they could have been rewarded now had Thiago not expressed his wish to return back to Barcelona. That being said, Bayern await a proper and realistic offer from Barcelona before any sort of deal is struck between the two clubs.

#1 N’golo Kante

Barcelona need to go all guns blazing to sign the Frenchman

There is no player in this current generation of players who has been as consistent as N’golo Kante. After achieving a historic Premier League title victory with Leicester City, Kante went on to join Chelsea where he repeated the feat.

In spite of a poor league performance last season by Chelsea under Antonio Conte, Kante remained as their standout player. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough support for the Frenchman last season.

To overcome that disappointment, Kante delivered some stunning performances in the World Cup to play a huge part in helping France win the 2018 World Cup. By doing that, the former Leicester midfielder has only increased his value and is now desperately wanted by Spanish giants Barcelona.

With Iniesta’s departure last season and with Busquets’ retirement likely to happen soon in the near future, the Catalan club would want someone to stabilize the midfield and they have identified Kante as that player.

But there’s a twist to this tale as PSG too have emerged as one of the candidates to seek Kante’s signature. Barcelona have their eye on Adrien Rabiot of PSG and if that is to happen, Kante is very likely to join the French club.

Both the moves depend on each other and while this is the talk going, Kante has left the decision entirely on Chelsea to decide on his future. It will be a great coup for either Barcelona or PSG to sign Kante in his prime if a transfer is going to take place this summer.