Barcelona 'in discussions with Rennes over Hamari Traore'

The Catalan giants have been active during the summer market, bringing in Andreas Christensen, Franck Kessie, Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski and Jules Kounde.

However, the club are still allegedly keen to sign both a right-back and a left-back before the deadline, with head coach Xavi looking to complete his squad for the 2022-23 campaign.

Villarreal's Juan Foyth, Borussia Dortmund's Thomas Meunier and Arsenal's Hector Bellerin are among the players to be linked with moves to Camp Nou to fill that role.

However, according to L'Equipe, Traore has now emerged as a leading target for the Catalan outfit, who are in discussions with Rennes over his signature.

The report claims that the 30-year-old could be available for as little as €3m (£2.5m), as his contract is due to expire at the end of the season.

Rennes have allegedly accepted that the Mali international could leave before the end of the transfer window and will not stand in his way if an agreement can be reached.

Traore has played the full 90 minutes in each of Rennes' three Ligue 1 matches against Lorient, Monaco and AC Ajaccio this season, sporting the captain's armband in the process.

Meanwhile, the right-back has made 206 appearances for the French club since making the move from Reims in July 2017, contributing five goals and 21 assists in the process.

Barcelona boss Xavi recently admitted that Barcelona wanted to sign Cesar Azpilicueta this summer, but the Spain international ultimately decided to sign a new contract at Chelsea.

"Being honest, we wanted to sign Cesar Azpilicueta [from Chelsea] and we couldn't, so that's the situation," Xavi told reporters ahead of the clash with Real Sociedad last weekend.

"But we do have players to provide cover there. Ronald [Araujo] did well there last weekend, Sergi Roberto can play there and [Jules Kounde] can as well in case of an emergency."

Sergino Dest remains at the club, but the United States international has allegedly been told that he is surplus to requirements at Camp Nou for the 2022-23 campaign.

On the left, Chelsea's Marcos Alonso and Celta Vigo's Javi Galan are believed to be the leading targets for Barcelona, who are keen to sign competition for Jordi Alba this term.

Manchester City's Bernardo Silva has also been strongly linked with a move to Camp Nou, but a deal for the Portugal international at this stage is believed to be highly unlikely.