The number of suitors for Ivan Rakitic’s signature continues to grow due to the uncertainty over his future.

Barcelona’s acquisition of Frenkie de Jong adds competition to an already crowded area and there are likely to be outgoings in order to accommodate this which creates uncertainty over the future of some of the more established players. Ivan Rakitic’s contract runs out in 2021 and there aren’t any talks over extending it so his place in the team looks under threat.

According to Gazzetta Dello Sport, Rakitic has asked Josep Bartomeu whether he can leave in the summer so he can have a more important role in another team due to his worries over falling down the pecking order. Inter are one of the clubs interested as they look for an established star to bolster their midfield. However, they also claim Adrien Rabiot will join the club in the summer, which looks unlikely as they have little need for him and the wage bill is already worryingly high.

Inter heavily pursued Luka Modric in the summer with little success, so they have appeared to move away from him in favour of his national teammate. They will have competition for his signature as there are a number of Premier League clubs interested in him, while PSG made a move for him in the summer.

He may have never been a fan favourite, but he has played an important role since he joined in 2014 partially due to the fact that he was willing to accept a smaller role in the team in order to allow others to flourish. At Sevilla, he was the main playmaker in the side, whereas, at Barcelona, he has essentially been the hard-working box-to-box midfielder due to his versatile skillset as well as filling other positions when needed.

Successful teams always have players such as Rakitic working hard behind the scenes to ensure they are a cohesive unit. Nonetheless, the future of the midfield is exciting with De Jong set to partner Arthur which will help them get back to the roots of the philosophy that made Barca so successful under Pep Guardiola.