Shkodran Mustafi could be a surprise signing for Barcelona this season. The Arsenal defender was linked with Ronald Koeman's side earlier this month and now his agent has confirmed the talks.
Mundo Deportivo in Spain were the first outlet to report of Barcelona's interest three weeks ago. Mustafi's name appeared on a list alongside that of Antonio Rudiger from Chelsea. Now as we encroach on January, Mustafi's agent Emre Ozturk has confirmed that he has had discussions with Barcelona.
It's unclear whether this move would be a transfer in January or a signing in the summer.
Mikel Arteta hasn't hesitated to move on from players since taking over one year ago. Mattéo Guendouzi famously found the door after making disrespectful comments during a Brighton game last season. Arteta and Guendouzi had clashed previously during training. Mesut Ozil is still technically an Arsenal player but hasn't featured all season. Arteta has apparently given up on the German international.
He essentially gave up on Mustafi too. The German defender has come off the bench twice in the Premier League this season but often isn't in the matchday squad. He started 13 Premier League games last season and has only started in the Europa League this season.
Gabriel Magalhaes has been an everpresent starter since signing in the summer. His arrival pushed Mustafi down the pecking order but it's not just the Brazilian defender's arrival. Mustafi is also behind David Luiz and Rob Holding. The mistake-prone Luiz is considered less of a liability than Mustafi. A damning indictment of his performances.
That's not the type of player you expect Barcelona to be pursuing. Especially after the contentious 6 months they've endured with Lionel Messi. Signing Mustafi won't satiate Messi despite Koeman suggesting Messi is happy now.
Barcelona made surprise signings from Arsenal before. Sylvinho, Aleksandr Hleb, Thomas Vermaelen and Alex Song all come to mind. Each had varying levels of success at the Catalan club but all of them had greater success than Mustafi at Arsenal. Barcelona don't always seek out galacticos like their rivals Real Madrid but they do search for a certain type of player.
Mustafi isn't comfortable in possession or in a high defensive line. His costly mistakes are likely to follow him from North London to Spain.
The German defender has at least previously played in La Liga. He spent two seasons as a star for Valencia before signing with Arsenal. Koeman is likely seeing that player rather than the one who won't even be offered a second contract in England. Now 28 years old, there is still time for him to turn his career around but it would fall into the category of plausible rather than probable.
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