Rayo Vallecano boss Paco Jemez has claimed that it would be "fantastic news" if Barcelona were monitoring his 23-year-old attacker Lass Bangoura.
It has been speculated in recent weeks that Barcelona want to bring Lass to Camp Nou when the winter window opens in January.
Far from playing down the speculation, Jemez has welcomed the reported interest in the Guinea international, who joined Rayo in 2010.
"I hope it's true because not everyone can say that they're being followed by Barcelona," Jemez told reporters. "To Lass it would be fantastic news, but he's still a Rayo player and we want him to give the maximum here.
"As a coach, it's my duty, responsibility and obsession to extract all of Lass's potential. That takes time and effort, but that's what I'm doing."
Lass has made nine La Liga appearances for Rayo this season.
