Juventus Transfer News: Dani Ceballos Interest Reported, Latest Rafinha Rumours

Juventus have a pair of La Liga recruits in their sights following reports the Bianconeri have revived interest in Real Madrid midfielder Dani Ceballos and have been offered Barcelona's injury-hit Rafinha Alcantara.

Italian website Calciomercato.com reported Juve could be interested in a deal to sign Ceballos if he seeks a route out of the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, having struggled to make much impact following a summer switch.

It's said the Italians were targeting Ceballos while he was at Real Betis, prior to joining Los Blancos for a reported €18 million fee, and they could chase his signature again should he grow tired of his status at Real.

Ceballos has encountered strong competition at club level and racked up only three starts this season, but he continues to show class with Spain's under-21s and was showered with praise by Spanish football writer Simon Harrison after a 4-1 win over Slovakia:

The 21-year-old scored one goal and assisted another in that Under-21 European Championship qualifier and still stands as one of his nation's brightest prospects, but it doesn't come across in his record for Real this term.

Ceballos has started in two of his four league appearances under manager Zinedine Zidane this term, but the fact remains central stars like Toni Kroos, Luka Modric and Casemiro take precedence—at least for now. 

Juve could give Ceballos a chance at more starting minutes without sacrificing much in terms of club quality—similar to how former Real-product-turned-Bianconeri-hero Alvaro Morata once did with a two-year stint in Turin.

However, the likes of Miralem Pjanic, Blaise Matuidi, Sami Khedira, Claudio Marchisio and Rodrigo Bentancur would also be difficult to displace at the Old Lady, posing the question as to whether it would be a worthwhile move.

Meanwhile, Calciomercato.com cited a report from Italian daily Tuttosport, which read Barcelona have tried to offload midfield flop Andre Gomes to Juve, but broadcaster Sportmediaset said Rafinha has also been offered.

Rafinha has been absent since April after suffering his second serious knee injury in the space of two years, as shown by Transfermarkt, and Yahoo's Andrew Gaffney touched on the disruption to his future caused by the setback:

Rafinha's father, former Brazil international Mazinho, recently spoke about his son's future at the Camp Nou and offered some insight as to his direction moving forward, per Catalan newspaper Sport:

"The important thing is that he's well. Our worry is that he recovers, that he can get back onto the pitch. We've spoken with nobody because an injured player is difficult to negotiate with when it comes to other clubs. Also we don't have interest, we have a contract with Barcelona."

"Rafinha is well, recovering, doing his work. He'll be back soon.

"Since 2005 I've had a perfect relationship with Barcelona. I have no complaints. I don't think Rafinha has had any problems with any coach or their system because he's a player that can adapt to any position."

The central midfielder can also operate out wide and could be a valuable addition if he were able to realise his former potential, although he needs to sustain a clean bill of health long enough to see if that's still the case.

Calciomercato suggested Juventus "are not interested in the Brazilian at the moment," and it appears he'll need to prove himself on the pitch once again before transfer interest regains some momentum.