Arsenal defender Shkodran Mustafi could be set for a shock January move to Barcelona.
Mustafi has been a much maligned figure during his four-and-a-half years at the Emirates.
His performances have been littered with mistakes, but he may be offered an unlikely-seeming North London escape route – by Barca.
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That is according to the 28-year-old’s agent Emre Ozturk.
The football rep recently posted a picture of himself outside Camp Nou, captioned ‘ready for meeting’.
And when askedabout the cryptic post by Fox Sports, he revealed that talks were centred around Mustafi, not another of his clients Yusuf Demir.
“I’m not in Barcelona because of Yusuf Demir, but because of Shkodran Mustafi from Arsenal, whom we also represent.”
Mustafi could be set to join a club in crisis, amid turmoil off the pitch and poor performances on it.
The LaLiga giants are interested in signing a new defender, following Gerard Pique’s devastating knee injury sustained last month.
The Spaniard twisted horribly after colliding with Atletico Madrid star Angel Correa.
In his absence, manager Ronald Koeman has been using various combinations involving Clement Lenglet, Ronald Araujo and Oscar Mingueza – with Samuel Umtiti also now fit again.
Barcelona are currently fifth in the table, having beaten Real Valladolid 3-0 last night – during which Lionel Messi set a new record of 644 for most goals scored for one club, beating Pele in the process.
As for Mustafi, the 2014 World Cup winner has found himself on the periphery of Arsenal’s farcical season.
He has featured just twice in the Premier League, making a further five appearances in the Europa League and one in the League Cup.
He wouldn’t be the first Arsenal centre-back to make the switch, with Thomas Vermaelen making the move in 2014. In the four seasons he was at the club, the Belgian made just 34 league appearances.
