The 'top' and 'low cost' player who could be close to Barça and Madrid near the end of the summer

The offices of FC Barcelona are on fire in these last hours of the transfer market. The Catalans continue studying their options to strengthen themselves in critical positions, one of them being the pivot, 'depleted' after Marc Bernal's serious injury. The Catalans are analysing different alternatives and one of them could be closed, even, once the summer window is over, as is the case of Adrien Rabiot, a 29-year-old French midfielder.

After finishing his time at Juventus, the footballer is on the market on a free transfer and has not yet signed with any team. If the Catalans manage to return to the 1/1 rule, they could face the operation within two or three weeks if the player remains without a club. However, for this to happen, the Catalans will have to close a significant economic agreement, with the extension of the contract with Nike being the immediate exit. The deal between both parties is about to be closed and would give enough oxygen to balance the accounts and give Deco room to manoeuvre.

Bernal's torn cruciate ligament and meniscus, coupled with Frenkie de Jong's indefinite absence and Christensen's Achilles injury, has left the pivot's position in a bad way, a setback that could harm Hansi Flick's scheme in the coming weeks due to this imbalance in the squad. Therefore, the Catalans could opt for a Rabiot who, at the moment, is not a priority, but if at the time he has not joined a new team, he could present himself as a market opportunity as he is an experienced player with proven quality in his position, as reported by 'SPORT'.

Real Madrid, waiting

For its part, Real Madrid would also be on the trail of the Frenchman. The Merengue entity is one step away from suffering the loss of Dani Ceballos, who has reportedly asked to leave the club. For this reason, and given the number of games that will be played this season, Carlo Ancelotti has asked Florentino Pérez to sign a reinforcement for the midfield, which is currently without the presence of Eduardo Camavinga and Jude Bellingham due to injury. Adrien is an old acquaintance of the Merengue club, which has already had him on its radar previously, so they could be interested in him again if they find a solution in the next few hours.

In any case, both Real Madrid and Barcelona will have to use their options since the summer transfer market for the 2024/25 campaign closes at midnight on Friday, August 30 in LaLiga, as well as in the main competitions in Europe. However, the Rabiot option could be used in an 'emergency' case beyond this date.