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Barcelona are reportedly considering a move for Fiorentina's Federico Bernardeschi, having been impressed by the winger's performances in the Europa League and Serie A this season.

The 21-year-old Italian has taken full advantage of his more prominent role in the first team under manager Paulo Sousa, turning in a number of strong performances in the 2015-16 campaign.

He has reportedly caught the eye of Barcelona, who are eager to sign Bernardeschi to add further strength to their impressive squad, per El Mundo Deportivo (via Colin O'Brien of Gazzetta World).



The report indicates that Barca sporting director Ariedo Braida watched Bernardeschi as he netted twice for Fiorentina in their Europa League tie with Basel on Nov. 26.

He has scored three times in four appearances this season in Europe's second-tier cup competition while appearing in 11 of the Viola's 14 Serie A games as they have moved into third place, per WhoScored.com.

It is clear to see why Barcelona are interested in the youngster, not least because he turned in an excellent pre-season performance against them back in August, highlights of which can be seen below:

He is excellent on the ball and is a fine distributor, while his solid defensive abilities make him an even more attractive target. While he prefers to play in a more advanced role on either flank, he can also be utilised as a No. 10 or even as a wing-back.

Bernardeschi would be an excellent addition to the Blaugrana's squad, not least because he could serve as cover in a number of different areas.

Manager Luis Enrique has a world-class first XI, but Barca are lacking slightly in attacking depth and were a Neymar or Luis Suarez injury away from being in real trouble earlier this season with Lionel Messi and Rafinha both sidelined.

Furthermore, Bernardeschi could be a key long-term buy for the La Liga giants, as he is only likely to improve and could be one of Europe's top players over the coming years.

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The same is true of Juventus' Paul Pogba, who has already proved that he has what it takes to be one of the best players in the world over the next decade.

The French midfielder has been consistently linked with Barcelona, and while his agent, Mino Raiola, has ruled out a January move for Pogba, the summer could be the time when the Catalans snap him up, per Radio Sportiva (via translator David Amoyal of GianlucaDiMarzio.com):

"Pogba? He won't leave in January, because he expressed the desire to stay at Juventus," said Raiola. "Then it's rare for champions to move in January. June on the other hand is very far away, in terms of transfer market it's like a century away."

Pogba is only 22 and alongside 23-year-old Neymar could form the basis of an impressive Barcelona team in the post-Messi era.

They seemingly will not be able to snap him up in January, but Barca's pursuit of Pogba is sure to be the transfer story of next summer.