Barcelona Rumors: Jose Mourinho Tracking Barca's 'New Cristiano Ronaldo'

Newly-announced AS Roma manager Jose Mourinho may have just added a Barcelona rising star on his transfer wish list.

Ahead of his talked-about return to Serie A, Mourinho is already rumored to be targeting a handful of new faces in his attempt to revamp Roma’s squad.

One of the names mentioned as Mourinho’s bet is Barcelona’s Francisco Trincao, Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo reported.

The Portuguese is said to be keen on bringing Trincao to Italy after the striker failed to deliver for Barca this season, the report said.

Barcelona has not shown any sign to offload Trincao, but the report added that a “change of scene” could happen should “a good offer arrives.”

However, Mourinho, who has a solid reputation in exploring talented players, is likely to face competition in luring his compatriot as Serie A giants Juventus and AC Milan are also reportedly keeping tabs on Trincao.

Apparently, after the successful swapping of Miralem Pjanic for Barca’s Arthur Melo last year, Juventus is hoping to follow it up by signing Trincao this summer, according to Italian publication ilBianconero.

Trincao is among Barcelona’s highly-regarded youngsters, but unlike his senior team co-debutants Ilaix Moriba and Pedri, the forward seemingly failed to make his mark on the team.

Amid his underwhelming maiden season under Ronald Koeman, Trincao--who has been dubbed as “the New Cristiano Ronaldo” in the past--is now expected to depart Camp Nou.

An earlier report stated that Barcelona is considering dealing the 21-year-old at the end of the season.

But as early as now, the Catalans are already open to listening to enticing offers, having been aware that “several clubs are interested” in recruiting Trincao.

Barcelona manager Koeman, who has been actively exploring new strategies and approaches, has reportedly deemed Trincao as irrelevant, having formed an effective attacking arsenal in recent games with Ousmane Dembele, Antoine Griezmann and Martin Braithwaite.

On the other hand, Mourinho is believed to have been busy working on a couple of transfer plans.

Aside from Trincao, the former Tottenham Hotspur boss also has his sights on Manchester United midfielder Nemanja Matic.

Rumors swirling around Italy claim that eleven years after he left Inter Milan, Mourinho seeks to reunite with Matic at Roma at the end of the season, having worked with the Siberian midfielder during his time at Chelsea and Manchester United.

Apart from Matic, Mourinho is also said to be chasing Torino talisman Andrea Belotti.