Barcelona could reportedly decide against green lighting an exit for Arturo Vidal in January after Arthur’s injury setback.
As confirmed by the Catalan giants in an official statement on Monday, the Brazilian midfielder has been ruled out for another three weeks with a troublesome groin injury which has bothered him for several weeks already.
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Coupled with their decision to allow Carles Alena to leave on loan to join Real Betis, they could be running the risk of leaving themselves too short in midfield to compete on multiple fronts if they were to allow any further exits next month.
That’s the issue that Calciomercato have cited, via the paper edition of Corriere dello Sport, as it’s now suggested that Barcelona could wait until the summer to approve of an exit for Vidal, which in turn will be a blow for Inter as they had been pursuing a January deal.
It’s added that with his contract becoming an issue by the summer, Barca could seriously consider allowing him to move on, but whether or not that’s too late for the Nerazzurri remains to be seen as Antonio Conte will want reinforcements in the New Year to boost their Serie A title bid this season.
Time will tell if Barcelona can be convinced to bring their plans forward and cope with the likes of Sergio Busquets, Ivan Rakitic and Frenkie de Jong for a few months, but if not, it could come down to whether or not Inter will still look to buy in January or just wait until the summer for Vidal.
The Italian giants are currently locked level on 42 points at the top of the Serie A table with Juventus after 17 games, and so any new arrivals midway through the campaign could be decisive in turning the tide in their favour.