Barcelona Transfer News: Leverkusen's Hakan Calhanoglu in Blaugrana Rumours

Reports have emerged from Turkey claiming that Barcelona will rival the likes of Manchester United, Milan and Arsenal in the race to sign Bayer Leverkusen playmaker Hakan Calhanoglu this January.

That's according to talkSPORT, with Luis Enrique's side expected to be busy in the new year after being prevented from registering any new players this year due to the 2016 transfer embargo, per BBC Sport.

Martin Meissner/Associated Press

The club is already set to welcome two new creative assets this winter when summer signing Arda Turan and Aleix Vidal will finally be permitted to make their debuts for the Blaugrana.

However, rising talent Calhanoglu has developed a considerable reputation of his own in recent years, and OptaCan has attested to the stellar form he's enjoyed particularly in Europe of late:

Barca's desire to sign playmaking assets has been heightened by the torn anterior cruciate ligament injury suffered by Rafinha last month, while depth has been an issue recently with Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta sidelined.

While failing to give anything specific away, Enrique has suggested that Barca will be active in the winter market. "Already since the summer we have been working on this. The club has not said anything to me about any financial situation," he said, per ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan.

Leverkusen aren't likely to be keen on the idea of losing their prodigious asset barely 18 months after he moved to the BayArena for a fee of €14.5 million.

Calhanoglu ended the 2014-15 campaign with 13 goals in 47 appearances and stands out as one of the Bundesliga's elite puppeteers, getting this season off to an even more prolific start with five goals in 13 games.

At this rate, the former Hamburg wonderkid is on track to eclipse last season's figures, which is further evidence of the swift strides he's making through his development.

As if the likes of Neymar, Messi and Co. weren't enough set piece talent to boast, Ben McAleer of WhoScored.com has also nominated Calhanoglu as the best free-kick-taker in world football right now:

With Barcelona having signed one of Turkey's flair talents in the shape of former Atletico Madrid star Turan, another talismanic Crescent Star joining their ranks could also be seen as a substantial marketing move.

Leverkusen would likely be in place to make a quick profit on the 21-year-old if they did cash in on Calhanoglu, a player going from stride to stride in the European pecking order.