On October 6th, Sport reported that Barcelona are in ‘best place’ to sign Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Adrien Rabiot.
His current deal at Parc des Princes runs down at the end of the season and he’s already rejected four offers from his employer to renew.
Any failure from the Ligue 1 winners to tie him down to a long-term deal will allow him negotiate with clubs outside his country and sign a pre-contract agreement to join them next summer in 2019.
Today’s edition of Mundo Deportivo has a story about the France international and it’s claimed the Blaugrana have long been focused on him as they are silently and tirelessly working to agree a deal with the 23-year-old in January.
They want to ‘shield’ the signing of Rabiot by agreeing a deal at the start of the next calendar year so that there are no efforts from other clubs to land him in the summer.
Ernesto Valverde’s side are not the only club after the PSG star and he continues to attract interest from Manchester United, Chelsea, Juventus and Bayern Munich, but the La Liga winners have been constantly in touch with the player and his agent after making an approach earlier in the summer.
The Catalan club are ready to offer Rabiot better wages and also pay him a hefty signing on bonus, if he joins them on a free transfer.
In addition to this, technical secretary Eric Abidal has convinced his compatriot about the club’s sporting project and an opportunity to play alongside Lionel Messi has put them in a good place to secure the midfielder’s signature. 
As mentioned by Mundo, it should be seen whether Barcelona can agree a deal in January for Rabiot as his chances of staying at PSG look slim, based on the current situation.
