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Denis Suarez Reportedly Set for Barcelona Stay Amid Arsenal and Chelsea Rumours

Matt Jones

Barcelona midfielder Denis Suarez will reportedly stay at the club in the January transfer window amid recent links to Chelsea and Arsenal.

According to Samuel Marsden of ESPN FC, despite making just one appearance for the Catalan side so far this season, Suarez will not be on the move in January.

Marsden added that according to a source, there have been inquiries into the player's availability from "some European clubs" with Chelsea and Arsenal both noted as teams that have previously been linked with Suarez.

So far this season Suarez's only appearance for the Blaugrana came in the Copa del Rey, when they faced third-tier team Cultural Leonesa; he's yet to start or appear as a substitute in either La Liga or the UEFA Champions League.

Although an injury ahead of the campaign was ill-timed for Suarez, the recruitment Barcelona have done in their midfield positions in 2018 meant that regular minutes were always going to be difficult for him to come by.

Not only did Philippe Coutinho arrive for a club-record fee in the January transfer window, Arturo Vidal and Arthur Melo also joined in the summer as Andres Iniesta, Paulinho and Andre Gomes moved on. Ivan Rakitic and Rafinha are also vying for similar spots in the side, so competition is fierce.

Marsden thinks Suarez might get a chance in the coming weeks on the basis that some key men are suffering with knocks:

Even so, the 24-year-old would have to do something special to keep Rakitic and Coutinho out of the side, meaning his long-term prospects of playing regularly at the Camp Nou are bleak.

Suarez's determination to make it at Barcelona is to be admired, and he'll be reluctant to let the chance to establish himself at such a historic club slip by. Still, with his stock as low as it's been since joining the club for a second stint in 2016, it'd be sensible if the Spain international did begin to consider his options.

After all, Suarez is talented enough to hold down a position in midfield for a big side in European football. In 2015-16, when he was a regular for Villarreal, he was one of the most creative players in La Liga.

When he's stepped onto the field as of late, he's looked a long way short of that player:

Arsenal are blessed with a number of attacking midfielders, although they appear poised to lose Aaron Ramsey at the end of the season when his contract expires, so a move for someone like Suarez may make sense.

At Chelsea there are options aplenty in this area of the pitch too, with Mateo Kovacic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Ross Barkley all in contention for a spot in midfield alongside Jorginho and N'Golo Kante.

   

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