Football
Sam Marsden, Barcelona correspondent 5y

Denis Suarez set for Barcelona stay as Arsenal move stalls - sources

Denis Suarez looks set to remain at Barcelona until the end of the season after talks regarding a move to Arsenal broke down on Tuesday, sources close to the player have told ESPN FC.

Arsenal were keen to sign Denis, who is in the final 18 months of his deal at Camp Nou, but have been unable to reach an agreement with Barca.

Barca want around €20 million for the midfielder, while Arsenal prefer a loan. The Catalan club would be open to loaning Denis until the end of the season, but only if any prospective deal included an obligatory option to buy in the summer.

Sources say Denis is now happy to stay in Barcelona but it doesn't look like his situation at the club is set to change any time soon. After initially being named in the squad for Wednesday's Copa del Rey quarterfinal against Sevilla, he was dropped on the morning of the game for new signing Kevin-Prince Boateng. 

Denis, 25, has made just eight appearances in all competitions this season. Only two of those appearances have been as a starter -- in the early rounds of the Copa against third division side Cultural Leonesa.

Barcelona, though, refuse to rule out Denis leaving before the end of January. Sources close to the club have told ESPN FC that they are prepared to listen to any offers for players that are not playing regularly between now and the transfer window closing.

That tallies with what sporting director Eric Abidal and coach Ernesto Valverde said on Tuesday. Abidal said there could still be departures this month, while Valverde said he "doesn't know" if Denis will still be with the club at the end of the window and "it's possible" that he leaves.

Denis, who has played in England before with Manchester City, returned to Barca from Villarreal in 2016, inheriting Xavi's No. 6 shirt. He has a contract until 2020 but despite initial excitement over his signing, he has failed to break into the first team, first under Luis Enrique and more recently under Valverde.

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