Barcelona have reportedly set their sights on Inter Milan midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia as they look to bolster their midfield this summer.
Spanish publication Don Balon have reported that Geoffrey Kondogbia is the subject of interest from Barcelona. The Catalan club are desperate to sign a top midfielder in this summer’s transfer window and are now set to approach Inter Milan over a move for the Frenchman.
Kondogbia has already been a journeyman of sorts in his young career, having represented four different clubs despite only being 24. The player joined his latest club, Inter Milan in the summer of 2015 after two fruitful campaigns with AS Monaco.
The Nerazzurri had shelled out a club record fee of €31 million to acquire his services, but Kondogbia has not managed to live up to his billing thus far. While he was an instrumental player under Roberto Mancini in his maiden campaign at San Siro, 2016/17 turned out to be a whimper of a season.
GAZETTA:
Geoffrey Kondogbia’s brother and agent, Evans Kondogbia, has confirmed that Barcelona ‘asked’ about the players current situation pic.twitter.com/uLE4JQv2sf— M·A·J (@UltraAutistic) July 20, 2017
The Frenchman only started 20 Serie A games last season, failing to become a key figure for any of the three managers who were appointed at the helm at Inter. While Luciano Spalletti has now taken charge at San Siro, it is believed that Kondogbia is unlikely to become a regular feature for his side.
Therefore, a move away from Inter is set to be in the offing this summer. In fact, Kondogbia was offered to Real Madrid, who politely declined as Zinedine Zidane is happy with the current options at his disposal. The player is now attracting interest from Barcelona, who are keen on adding a midfielder this summer.
Ernesto Valverde currently has the likes of Sergio Busquets, Andres Iniesta, Ivan Rakitic, Andre Gomes, Denis Suarez and Rafinha at his central midfield options. But the likes of Gomes and Suarez have failed to make a mark at Camp Nou, while Rakitic blew hot and cold last season.
With Iniesta being on the wrong side of 30 and approaching the end of his glittering career the Barcelona boss seems to have an urgent need to sign a midfielder this summer. While the Blaugrana have been heavily linked to the likes of Marco Verratti and Paulinho, they have made little progress in their pursuit.
They have, thus, turned their attention towards Kondogbia who at 24, has still not reached his best and can be groomed as a midfield enforcer under Valverde. It now remains to be seen if Barcelona make a formal offer for the Frenchman this summer, or if they’re able to land their primary targets instead.
