Barca chase Sevilla midfielder Banega

According to Spanish daily 'AS', Barca's technical secretary Eric Abidal is working tirelessly to attempt to bring new faces to the club before the transfer deadline and nowhere moreso than in the middle of the park.

Following the departure of Paulinho, the Catalan side look set to replace the muscle that he brought to the midfield with the signing of Arturo Vidal, who is thought to have left Bayern Munich training ahead of completing an impending move.

However, his arrival at the Camp Nou would not mean an end to Barca's midfield revamp, with the aforementioned source of the opinion that Banega remains a target whether Vidal puts pen to paper or not.

Despite having reached the dreaded 30 mark, Banega's technical ability and capacity to read the game still make him an interesting option to the Barca hierarchy, as does his relationship with compatriot Lionel Messi.

With that in mind, it is claimed that Ernesto Valverde's side are continuing to look into a potential move for the Argentina playmaker, despite Sevilla not actively looking to sell the player.