Abidal dodges Pogba talk to target treble with Vidal

Eric Abidal refused to entertain speculation regarding further Barcelona signings as he encouraged new man Arturo Vidal to target the treble.

With Andres Iniesta and Paulinho departing, LaLiga champions Barca brought in Arthur and had been credited with an interest in various other midfield options before sealing a reported €20million deal for Vidal from Bayern Munich.

The names of Paul Pogba, Adrien Rabiot and Frenkie de Jong were all put to Abidal as Vidal was presented to the media but, although not ruling out further business, the club’s director of football preferred to focus on the new man.

“The most important thing is to have Arturo here,” Abidal told a news conference. “We don’t talk about players that are not part of this club. I cannot comment on that.

“We have a good, complete squad. We want to win the treble if possible.”

Welcome to Camp Nou, @kingarturo23 ! #EnjoyVidal pic.twitter.com/2juMVlMCHh

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) August 6, 2018

With Vidal seemingly set for a move to Inter just days earlier, Abidal was commended for the speed of the transfer but claimed the club were just acting as normal.

“I do not know if we are moving fast or not,” he added. “We have a team working together, putting names on the table and making decisions from there.

“It is always better to move as soon as possible, but we have to adapt to decisions.”

Vidal, sat next to Abidal, was also asked about Pogba potentially arriving from Manchester United, but he laughed and replied: “I do not know anything about that. I’m just happy to be here and sign the contract.”