Barcelona Transfer News: Latest Rumours on Federico Bernardeschi, Alen Halilovic

Barcelona will reportedly have to fight competition from the Premier League and Serie A if they're to have any luck in signing Fiorentina winger Federico Bernardeschi. Meanwhile, former Barca starlet Alen Halilovic has requested to leave Hamburg.

According to Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport (h/t Daily Star's James Benson), Fiorentina value their forward at a hefty £43 million, with Chelsea and AC Milan said to be among his biggest suitors.

Barcelona are one of the clubs mentioned in the report as being linked with a move for Bernardeschi, who has established himself as one of Serie A's most coveted young players following a breakout 2015-16 campaign.

However, there are other factors at play in Florence that may convince Fiorentina to double down in their efforts to get Bernardeschi to sign a new deal at the club, per Gianluca Di Marzio reporter David Amoyal:

Italian daily La Nazione (h/t Calciomercato.com) reported La Viola are eager to extend their winger's stay at the club but are intent on inserting a €65 million (£55.6 million) release clause in any new agreement.

Barca already have arguably the most accomplished front three in the world with Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar leading their attack, but securing talented cover of a similar standard is also a chief concern.

Chelsea have an advantage in the race for Bernardeschi in that it was current Blues boss Antonio Conte who handed the winger his first international call-up last year during his time at the Italy helm.

That being said, the promise of playing at the Camp Nou might still tempt the player to Catalonia, and BT Sport's Adam Summerton hailed Bernardeschi after scoring twice and recording one assist in a 3-3 draw against Napoli last month:

The Italian's record for the 2016-17 campaign stands at nine goals in 18 Serie A appearances for Fiorentina this term, an impressive tally considering the wide man has played the full 90 minutes in just seven of those outings.

Elsewhere, Hamburg sporting director Jens Todt has confirmed to German newspaper Bild (h/t FourFourTwo) that former Camp Nou wonderkid Halilovic has asked to leave the Bundesliga club just six months after arriving.

"Alen wants to play a lot more, and he asked us for a change. A loan is feasible," Todt said. "Winter transfers are the most difficult. Everyone is looking for a fully integrated player who is 100 per cent fit, speaks German as well as possible and has played every game in the first half of the season."

The 20-year-old impressed on loan with Sporting Gijon last season but has struggled in what was his first venture outside La Liga since arriving at Barca from Dinamo Zagreb in 2014, meaning a return to Spain may be on the cards.