Report: Barcelona Scouts De Jong, Pogba, Rabiot During UCL Openers
Barcelona are reported to have scouted three major targets during matchday one of the new Champions League season this week, sending eyes to watch Paul Pogba, Adrien Rabiot and Frenkie de Jong in action for their respective clubs.
A report from Mundo Deportivo has claimed that Camp Nou officials Pep Segura, Eric Abidal and Ramon Planes were dispatched to watch the trio of potential future Barça players.
Pogba, whose Manchester United future has long been the subject of frenzied media speculation, took centre stage on Wednesday night as he captained his team to a 3-0 win over Swiss champions Young Boys, scoring the first two goals of the game.
After the game, the French World Cup winner revealed his gratitude to manager Jose Mourinho for letting him stay on penalty duty after a recent miss. If their relationship is improving, that could make it much harder for Barça to successfully prise Pogba away.
24 hours before Pogba's masterclass, Rabiot had appeared for Paris Saint-Germain in their 3-2 defeat at the hands of Liverpool at Anfield. He could be a much more attainable target as he remains on course to become a free agent at the end of the season.
Then there is De Jong, a player that Barça have been monitoring for some time but one who Manchester United are also thought to now have eyes on as well. He played for Ajax as the Dutch giants made their Champions League return in a 3-0 win over AEK Athens.
Barça themselves kicked off their 2018/19 Champions League campaign in style this week, winning 4-0 against PSV Eindhoven in search of their first continental title since 2015.
