Barcelona Transfer News: Milan Skriniar's Agent Dismisses Blaugrana Rumours

The agent of Inter star Milan Skriniar has moved quickly to dismiss rumours the defender could be joining Barcelona soon, saying it is “impossible” for him to change teams.

The Slovak only joined the Nerazzurri during the summer but has quickly established himself as one of the team's top players, leading to transfer speculation in recent days. Catalan newspaper Mundo Deportivo (h/t Football Italia) reported Skriniar was on the team's radar.

Luca Bruno/Associated Press

His agent, Karol Csonto, told Gazetta dello Sport (h/t Calciomercato.com) he won't move to Spain, however:

"Milan to Barcelona? It can’t happen, he has a good head on his shoulders and great personality. It’s impossible that he changes team.

"I’m very happy of the impact he [Skriniar] has had at Inter. It’s also thanks to Coach Giampaolo, who worked very hard on him to help him improve in Genoa. Especially from a tactical perspective. (Manager Luciano) Spalletti? They get on splendidly."

Skriniar joined Inter during the summer after a solid spell with Sampdoria, where he played a vital role in the club's excellent 2016-17 campaign. He immediately moved into Inter's preferred starting XI and has exceeded expectations by a huge margin.

Here's a look at some of his stats, via FootballTalentScout:

"

11 games ✔️
990 mins ✔️
2 goals ✔️
5 clean sheets ✔️
651 passes ✔️
91% pass accuracy
0 yellow cards ✔️
0 red cards ✔️

Inter Skriniar  pic.twitter.com/yxR5OMaehi

— FootballTalentScout (@FTalentScout) October 31, 2017"

The 22-year-old was initially seen as a reach by Inter, who were in dire need of defensive depth during the summer and sent €8 million and Gianluca Caprari to Sampdoria for his services―at the time, it was regarded as far too much for the Slovak.

He has fitted into Inter's system perfectly, however, using his strong positional skills to come up with clearance after clearance. He has also excelled in the air and as a distributor.

Here's a look at some of his highlights from last year's campaign:

Skriniar would be an unlikely target for Barcelona given his recent move to Inter and relative lack of experience. He's going through a fantastic spell, but there's little history to back up his form, and an investment would be risky at this point.

Mundo ranked Kalidou Koulibaly of Napoli and Dayot Upamecano of RB Leipzig as other potential targets for the Blaugrana, and those two would seem more likely to move for the right fee.

MIGUEL MEDINA/Getty Images

What all those players have in common is they're not likely to move to Camp Nou as a depth option, however, which is what the initial report suggested Barcelona were after. The duo of Gerard Pique and Samuel Umtiti have led the club to the best defensive record in La Liga―neither is expected to move to the bench anytime soon.

Inter are not likely to cash in on Skriniar, and the Slovak won't settle for a spot on the bench at this stage of his career―even if that bench is located in Barcelona.