Barcelona Boss Unsure of Ivan Rakitic Place in the Team
Ernesto
Valverde has opened the door to Ivan Rakitic leaving Barcelona this
summer.
Rakitic, 31,
has been a mainstay in the Barcelona side since his move from Sevilla in 2014
but he faces a fight for his place next season.
Frenkie de
Jong has joined from Ajax while Arthur and Carles Alena are also vying for a
midfield spot alongside Sergio Busquets.
The arrival
of Antoine Griezmann from Atletico Madrid could also lead to a tactical
reshuffle for the Spanish champions.
Rakitic, who
has been linked with Manchester United this summer, was on target
against Chelsea in Japan on Tuesday.
But after the
clash, Valverde refused to guarantee Rakitic a starting spot next term.
"Rakitic
has been an important player, I don’t know if it will be this season," he
said.
"New
players are coming and he will have to earn it."
Manchester
United are looking for midfield reinforcements following Ander Herrera's
departure.
Bruno
Fernandes and Sean Longstaff are both targets for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as he
looks to complete a deal before the transfer window closes.
Barcelona
were beaten 2-1 by Chelsea in Saitama with Tammy Abraham and Ross Barkley on
target for the Blues
De Jong made
his debut in the clash as Barca fans got to see their new signing in action.
On the
defeat, he said: "Unfortunately, it was not a good game and we lost, but I
felt very good to be the first game, it was my first minutes and I am
happy."
"For me
it is not important to play in one or another position, what I like is to play
and it does not matter where it is. Valverde did not tell me that he was only
going to play in a certain position."
FROM MIRROW Online
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