Barcelona closing in on Rayo Vallecano star in January: Good move for the Blaugrana?

Bengaluru, Jan 13: Barcelona have reportedly set their sights towards 28-year-old Rayo Vallecano goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski as they look to replace Neto in the January transfer window.

The Brazilian shot-stopper is eager to call it quits at Camp Nou at the earliest possible prospect. He has made just 11 La Liga appearances for Barca to date since arriving from Valencia in 2019.

As a result, he is now looking for an immediate exit with several Premier League and Serie A sides interested in him. Barcelona are now reportedly looking to replace him with the Rayo Vallecano keeper and an offer is likely to be made very soon.

Dimitrievski's impressive season so far

The Macedonian shot-stopper has been a revelation for Vallecano and has been one of the best shot-stoppers in the league this season. Since signing for the Spanish side from Gimnastic de Tarragona in August 2018, he has only gone strength to strength and is one of the big reasons behind the Madrid-based club's surprising contention for a top-four finish this season. Dimitrievski tops the league charts in terms of total saves this season and has kept six clean sheets in 18 league appearances this term which speaks volumes about his performance.

Good deal for Barcelona?

First choice Marc-Andre ter Stegen has endured a significant dip in performance levels in the past year. Despite ter Stegan's downfall Neto has failed to put up a contest. Now with the Brazilian keeper, all set for an exit and ter Stegan needing a strong competitor, the interest in Dimitrievski is pretty understandable.

Dimitrievski although at first likely to compete with ter Stegen for the first-choice goalkeeping berth, could replace the German if his performance does not improve. However, it will be interesting to see if Rayo Vallecano agree on selling him mid-season. The club can genuinely harbour hopes of European qualification this campaign and selling one of the star players at this stage could be a big setback. So it remains to be seen if Barcelona manage a deal in January or have to wait till summer for his capture.