Barcelona Transfer News: Latest Rumours on Arthur and Javier Mascherano

Gremio midfielder Arthur has reportedly told Barcelona he wants to join the club, while Javier Mascherano is said to want to leave in January and has a lucrative offer from Chinese Super League side Hebei China Fortune.

Arthur has said that he has already met with Barcelona officials but there is "nothing agreed" with the Catalan giants, per Esporte Interativo (h/t Robin Bairner at Goal).

The midfielder had been photographed wearing the club's shirt alongside Barcelona sporting director Robert Fernandez, as shown by South American football writer Paulo Freitas:

Gremio president Romildo Bolzan has said that the meeting with Barcelona was authorised and confirmed that the midfielder has a €50 million release clause, per Sport.

Arthur is one of the brightest young stars in South American football and has recently been crowned the best defensive midfielder in the Brazilian league 2017, per Selecao Brasileira:

The midfielder has already been likened to former Barca midfielder Xavi, as he is a deep-lying playmaker who is superb in possession. 

Sport's Lluis Miguelsanz and Joaquim Piera reported he has already agreed to join Barcelona and the club must try to find an agreement with Gremio.

Given that he has a release clause and seemingly wants a move, that should be relatively straightforward, but Barcelona may need to move quickly to beat off interest from other clubs.

Mascherano, meanwhile, is wanted by Hebei China Fortune, who are willing to triple his salary and can offer him regular football, per Sport.

The Argentinian has made just five La Liga starts for Barcelona this season and is behind Gerard Pique and Samuel Umtiti in the pecking order.

Mascherano has said he is "no longer as important at Barcelona as I once was" but is unsure what the future holds, per TyC Sports (h/t Calciomercato.com's Nima Tavallaey Roodsari).

Football writer Roy Nemer believes the defender deserves a rest ahead of the FIFA 2018 World Cup:

There seems little doubt the 33-year-old's time at the Camp Nou may be coming to an end, but he may have to wait until he can depart.

Barcelona have confirmed Umtiti will not be fit until the end of January, which leaves the club short of options in defence with only Pique, Mascherano and the injury-prone Thomas Vermaelen as manager Ernesto Valverde's only senior centre-backs.