Chelsea have set their sights on signing Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic at the end of the season, claims Spanish outlet SPORT.
Maurizio Sarri’s side are on the market for a new central midfielder, though are unlikely to make any further additions before Thursday’s transfer deadline.
Chelsea were heavily linked with a move for Zenit midfielder Leandro Paredes but missed out on his signature to Paris Saint-Germain.
Despite selling Cesc Fabregas to Monaco earlier this month, Chelsea are now willing to wait until the summer before addressing their midfield positions.
The Premier League giants will continue to monitor Rakitic’s future at Barcelona amid suggestions the Croatia international will need to be sold.
Frenkie de Jong will join Barcelona from Ajax for an initial £65m fee in the summer and the Spanish side will reportedly need to balance their books by selling at least two players.
Rakitic is one player that could be axed as a result of De Jong’s arrival and he is already a transfer target for Chelsea.
The 30-year-old has made 20 league appearances for Barcelona this season and netted twice.
Only Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos (87) averages more passes per game than Rakitic (78) in La Liga this term.
Furthermore, of players that have made more than 10 starts in La Liga this term, only two players have a better pass accuracy than Rakitic (92.1%).
