Barcelona ‘deny they are interested in making shock swoop for Arsenal’s Shkodran Mustafi’

Barcelona have reportedly ruled out a move for out of favour Arsenal defender Shkodran Mustafi despite confirming a meeting with the German’s agent.

Mustafi had been linked with the Spanish giants after his agent Emre Ozturk claimed he was at the Nou Camp to set up the move after being pictured outside the ground on Instagram according to Spox.

The report claimed that when Ozturk was asked about one of his client’s moves to Barca, he insisted he was at the Spanish giants to arrange a move for Mustafi, saying: ‘I’m not in Barcelona because of Yusuf Demir, but because of Shkodran Mustafi from Arsenal, whom we also represent.’

Arsenal defender Shkodran Mustafi was linked with a move to Barcelona earlier in the week

But Barca have since reportedly rejected any claims they were looking to sign the defender.

According to Mundo Deportivo, they claim that while a meeting had taken place it was nothing more than out of  ‘courtesy’ and they they would not be pursing a move for the 28-year-old.

Mustafi has fallen down the pecking order under Mikel Arteta, playing eight games in all competitions and just twice in the Premier League this season.

The Gunners are keen to offload him in January for a small fee, with his contract running out next summer.

But Barca have denied any interest in signing the German who is out of favour at the Gunners

The Spanish side are on the look out for a defender following Gerard Pique’s injury

The German has previous experience playing in LaLiga with Valencia, whom the Gunners signed him from for £37million back in 2016.

Barca remain keen on signing a defender following an injury to key defender Gerard Pique in November which Spanish reports claim could see him miss the majority of the season, if not all of it.

Despite cash flow problems they remain keen on landing Eric Garcia from Manchester City having failed to make a move materialise over the summer.

However, replacements within the ranks including Ronald Araujo and Oscar Mingueza have performed well and eased the panic over landing a defender when the transfer window opens in January.