Carlos Vela has an offer from Barcelona, according to LA Galaxy team-mate

Carlos Vela

LA Galaxy forward Carlos Vela could join Barcelona in the January transfer window, according to team-mate Jonathan dos Santos.

Vela enjoyed a superb season in the United States in 2019, scoring 38 goals in 36 games in all competitions.

The attacker previously spent six and a half seasons in La Liga with Real Sociedad, for whom he made 250 appearances between 2011 and 2017.

And Dos Santos, who plays alongside Vela for both LA Galaxy and the Mexico national team, says his colleague could return to Spain's top tier next month.

"It's true that he has that offer on the table and I honestly don't know what he is going to do,” Dos Santos told Colombian radio station W Radio.

“He is very happy in Los Angeles, with his team. It's a unique opportunity the fact that Barcelona wants him, it's the best team in the world. As a Mexican I hope that it can happen for him.

"He's had a spectacular season. He is on holiday, I haven't spoken to him because I don't want to bother him. Whatever is good for him, I'll be happy."

Vela told the New York Times in October that he almost joined Barcelona on loan last season, between the end of the 2018 MLS season and the start of the 2019 edition.

It is not clear whether the Blaugrana will seek to borrow Vela for a similar period of time this term, or whether they will attempt to buy the 30-year-old outright.

However, ESPN report that Barcelona are yet to submit an offer for the Mexican, whose first taste of European football came with Arsenal in the mid-2000s.

Ernesto Valverde's side concluded the Champions League group stage with a 2-1 victory over Inter on Tuesday.

And Barcelona, who are top of La Liga on goal difference alone, travel to Vela's former club Real Sociedad on Saturday.

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Greg Lea

Greg Lea is a freelance football journalist who's filled in wherever FourFourTwo needs him since 2014. He became a Crystal Palace fan after watching a 1-0 loss to Port Vale in 1998, and once got on the scoresheet in a primary school game against Wilfried Zaha's Whitehorse Manor (an own goal in an 8-0 defeat).