Barcelona Transfer News: Javier Mascherano Agrees Juventus Move, Latest Rumours

Barcelona star Javier Mascherano has reportedly agreed a deal to join Serie A champions Juventus.

According to Sport (via Sport Witness), the Argentinian has reached a deal with the Italian outfit, but there has been no agreement between the two clubs:

It would be something of a surprise if Mascherano, 31, left the Camp Nou after six seasons at the club, as he remains one of their most important and influential players. 

Indeed, Gerard Romero's Sport report says Barca "have no intention of selling [Mascherano] at the moment" but he has been "assessing the possibility of leaving for an improved contract, which could be the last big one of his sporting career."

According to Mundo Deportivo (via the Mirror's Ed Malyon), the former Liverpool midfielder is concerned about the potential arrival at Barca of key target Marquinhos from Paris Saint-Germain.

Furthermore, he also wants to play in "a more advanced role" than he has at Barca, and Juve would reportedly offer him a midfield spot, with current Blaugrana boss Luis Enrique having not made good on his promise to play Mascherano further forward, per Goal's Romeo Agresti and Ignasi Oliva.

Though Mascherano was signed by Pep Guardiola as a defensive midfielder, he was converted into a centre-back by the Spanish manager and has thrived in the position at the Catalan club.

The arrival of Marquinhos, 22, at the Camp Nou would threaten Mascherano's first-team status under Enrique—a valid reason for wanting to move on.

Per Malyon, though, Barca are struggling in their attempts to sign the defender from PSG and will be even less keen to see Mascherano leave if they can't snap up the Brazilian.

Mascherano still has two years left on his current Barca deal, and Spanish football writer Dermot Corrigan believes the Juve link may simply be an attempt by the one-time West Ham United man to get an improved contract:

However, if he really does want to leave the club, the Blaugrana would be left in a tricky situation, as their defensive ranks are limited.

Along with Mascherano, Gerard Pique is their only other consistently reliable centre-back, and 2014 purchase Thomas Vermaelen looks set to leave having barely played at all, per Bleacher Report's Dean Jones:

The Belgian was brought in from Arsenal to bolster the defensive ranks at the Camp Nou, but he has struggled with fitness issues and only appeared 11 times in total for Barca in La Liga, per WhoScored.com.

Per Mundo Deportivo (via the Express' James Cambridge), Liverpool are "waiting" on Vermaelen, 30, to make a decision on whether he will now force a move out of Barca before making a bid for him.