After a fairly disastrous start to the campaign, which at one point saw them sit at the bottom of the table, Sevilla have really begun to pick up pace in La Liga and they now look to be genuine contenders for a top-four finish.

While summer signings Carlos Bacca, Vitolo and Daniel Carrico have stood out alongside the likes of Alberto Moreno, there can be no denying they would be significantly worse off without one particular player.

That would be their captain, Ivan Rakitic.

Over the course of the summer, then-President Jose Maria del Nido and sporting director Monchi made a point of ensuring the Croatian remained at the club.

As the likes of Jesus Navas, Alvaro Negredo, Gary Medel and many, many more left the club, Coach Unai Emery and the ‘big wigs’ in the boardroom were insistent that it would be Rakitic whom the new Sevilla would be built around.

After 16 appearances in the League, the 25-year-old has eight goals and a further six assists, making it easy to see why such importance was placed on him. However, the Croatia international’s future is looking a little cloudy, with impressive form and transfer temptation going hand-in-hand.

On numerous occasions he has re-affirmed his desire to remain in Andalucia, with his wife and daughter both from the area, but his quotes have generally been ambiguous as he admitted moves to clubs such as Manchester United would be attractive.

United have not been the only side linked with a bid. Liverpool and Tottenham are just two others believed to be keeping an eye on his situation, with his current contract set to expire in June 2015.

This does leave Sevilla in a hairy position. Contract negotiations are in motion, but the longer it takes for the two-time UEFA Cup winners to tie him down, the more likely a move will be. One thing is clear, though – they simply cannot afford to allow a player of his calibre to leave for free.

Although Rakitic is enjoying an excellent season, Sevilla do seem to have a tendency to be over reliant on him. Maybe that is fair enough. Perhaps that is the purpose of the best players. However, they look a shadow of themselves without him. Their only blip in the last six League games was the home draw with Athletic Bilbao and funnily enough that was the one which Rakitic missed.

They looked hopelessly short of ideas through the middle and his absence left a gaping crater in midfield. Luckily he was only serving a one-match suspension, but what if he was to suffer a serious injury? Their Champions League aspirations would be in tatters.

The return to fitness of Chelsea loanee Marko Marin should help lighten the load on the FC Basel youth product, but to rely on the notoriously injury prone German would not be wise.

Either way, a new contract for Rakitic would be their best signing of the season.

La Liga - Club News