Juventus 'Not Interested' in Barcelona's Ivan Rakitic, Says Fabio Paratici

Juventus director Fabio Paratici has once again ruled out a January transfer of Barcelona's Ivan Rakitic, saying the Bianconeri are not interested in the Croat. 

Per Goal's Moises Llorens and Sam Marsden, Paratici was asked about the persistent links, and he said the current Juventus team does not need reinforcements: "We have a great team and are not looking for reinforcement right now. We are strong in every position. Rakitic is a great player, but we are not interested."

It's not the first time he's ruled out such a move:

Per Goal, Barcelona are open to selling Rakitic in January for the right fee. Marca (h/t Football Espana's Collin Millar) also reported as such, stating an agreement has already been reached between the player and the club, and Atletico Madrid are willing to pay their €40 million asking price.

Movistar+ (h/t Millar) added Inter Milan and Manchester United to the list of possible suitors, while sporting director Monchi hinted Sevilla would be interested in an interview with Canal Sur Radio (h/t Millar).

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Juventus signed two central midfielders during the summer in Adrien Rabiot and Aaron Ramsey. Neither has become a regular starter, with Miralem Pjanic, Blaise Matuidi and Sami Khedira seeing the bulk of the playing time.

Rodrigo Bentancur has seen an increase in minutes since Maurizio Sarri became manager, and Emre Can provides further depth.

The latter has not been happy with his role, per Kicker (h/t Liverpool Echo):

There are only so many minutes to go around, however, and the central-midfield position is arguably the most crowded of all in Turin. Adding yet another player in January would make little sense, which is why a Rakitic transfer seems unlikely.

Barcelona also don't seem to have much of a need for Rakitic. After starting 29 La Liga matches last season, the Croat has begun just one in the 2019-20 campaign. He has no starts in the UEFA Champions League.

Summer arrival Frenkie de Jong, Sergio Busquets and Arthur make up the preferred trio in midfield, while Arturo Vidal has also passed Rakitic in the pecking order. Carles Alena and Riqui Puig provide further depth.