Barcelona looking into surprise swoop for Chelsea star?

Barcelona are reportedly considering a surprise attempt to sign Antonio Rudiger from Chelsea before the transfer deadline.

Rudiger has been left out of the Blues' previous two games against Liverpool and Barnsley and this has led to suggestions that he could head through the exit door.

AS Roma have been mentioned as potential candidates to re-sign him, but Goal.com claims that the Giallorossi could face stiff competition in the form of the Blaugrana.

The Catalan giants have looked at signing former graduate Eric Garcia from Manchester City, but they have been unable to strike a deal with the Cityzens despite his contract expiring next summer.

Hence, they have been forced to look into alternatives and Rudiger has reportedly caught their radar. The German is currently behind Thiago Silva, Kurt Zouma, Fikayo Tomori and Andreas Christensen in the selection order.

He has not played a single minute of first-team football this season. He was an unused substitute during the season opener at Brighton & Hove Albion before being dropped from the matchday squad.