Reports from Spain have suggested that Barcelona have stepped up their interest to sign Liverpool target and Sporting Lisbon’s defender Marcos Rojo in the summer.

The 24 year old Argentine has enjoyed a good season in Portugal and has attracted interest from Liverpool over the past couple of months. Arsenal were also interested in Rojo but reports have died down since then.

With Carles Puyol retiring at the end of th season and Javier Mascherano’s future uncertain, the Camp Nou outfit would be only left with Marc Bartra and Gerrard Pique as the two specialist centre backs at the heart of the defense.

Rojo can play either as a centre back or a left back, possessing immense versatility which would benefit Barcelona if they are to secure his services. However any such deal would be complicated by the fact that Sporting  own only 25% of the player’s economic value.

Hence the Portuguese side would be willing to wait till the end of the World Cup as a string of good performances with Argentina in Brazil would sky rocket his price in the transfer market. It is also believed that Barcelona Sporting Director Andoni Zubizarreta is acting swiftly to get the deal done before the showpiece event starts in mid June.

The Blaugrana might also use Lionel Messi to persuade Rojo to sign the dotted lines of a possible contract in the summer.