Conte keen on January midfield reinforcements

Inter Milan head coach Antonio Conte has set his sights on adding to his midfield in January and could raid Barcelona for Ivan Rakitic. The Nerazzurri have made an excellent start to life under Conte, who took charge during the summer, and have won six of their first seven matches to leave them second in the Serie A standings heading into the weekend.
The only game they failed to win was against reigning champions Juventus, Maurizio Sarri’s men triumphing 2-1 at the San Siro before the recent international break.
While Inter look to have enough strength in depth to mount a title challenge, reports in Italy suggest Conte feels he needs more quality to push his team over the top in their battle with Juve.
The former Chelsea and Juve head coach has targeted adding to the centre of his midfield and has drawn up a two-man shortlist – Barcelona’s Rakitic and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic of Lazio.
Croatia international Rakitic would appear the most likely option with various reports in Spain claiming the 31-year-old will look to leave the Nou Camp in January due to a lack of regular action.
Rakitic has reportedly already spoken to Inter with reports in Spain claiming he already has a verbal agreement with Inter, turning down the chance to join Manchester United.
Should that deal not come off then a move for Milinkovic-Savic looks to be the fall-back option for Conte’s outfit, although they may face competition from Juventus.
The Serbia international would be a more expensive option having been valued at over 100million euros when Manchester United made a failed attempt to sign him during the summer.
The 24-year-old has also been linked with penning a bumper new deal with Lazio which would end any chances of Inter bringing him in.