da 888： This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…
da dobrowin： Inter Milan have reportedly taken interest in Barcelona’s 31-year-old midfielder, Ivan Rakitic, according to Tuttosport (via Mundo Deportivo). If true, that potential exit could open the door for their La Masia talent.
What’s the word, then?
Rakitic is definitely not living his best days over on the sunny pitches of Catalonia.
The 31-year-old Croatian sensation has gone from a hero to an outcast practically overnight. Last season’s most used player has only played a total of 186 minutes across all competitions in the 2019/20 campaign.
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Recently, he even publicly addressed his potential departure and the whole situation that started developing over the summer with his rumoured exit to Juventus.
But there’s also one other player who’s in a similar or even worse situation at the moment – Carles Alena.
However, all of that could change with Rakitic’s potential switch in the winter.
A player reborn
Alena is a 21-year-old La Masia product who’s been a regular part of Barcelona’s senior squad heading into the 2019/20 season.
But despite his appearance in the starting XI at the very beginning of the campaign in Blaugrana’s clash against Atheltic Bilbao, Alena has been completely frozen out of the squad.
Ever since that game in August, the young midfielder didn’t tally a single minute, getting discarded completely seven times and being chained to the bench the remaining two times he was called up.
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By all accounts, times have been rough for the 21-year-old talent and much of that has come from Barcelona’s midfield congestion. Currently, there are eight midfielders fighting for three spots on the pitch and naturally, it was really difficult for Alena to stand out.
But with Rakitic potentially off to Inter Milan, the door could suddenly open wide for the Spaniard.
Surely, with one less presence in that squad and with one midfield spot opening in particular, Alena could once again feature for the team.
The talent is surely there – he has already tallied 35 games for the senior team, scoring three goals in the process.
Before that, he was a star at Barcelona B, managing 18 goals and 14 assists in a total of 89 games.
Maybe Ernesto Valverde has forgotten about him of late but if anyone should get the chance to replace Rakitic, it’s definitely him.
Let’s see what happens once the market opens.