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Barcelona are hoping to complete the signing of Chelsea’s Marcos Alonso next week following Thomas Tuchel’s decision on the wing-back, according to reports.
The signing of out-of-contract Andreas Christensen by Barcelona is set to be announced next week, but the Catalan club are not done in their pursuit of Chelsea defenders.
Both Alonso and captain Cesar Azpilicueta are wanted by the Spanish outfit as they continue their attempts to raid the Blues squad.
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Alonso’s move could be completed very soon.
It was reported last week that his agent was in London to negotiate an exit from Chelsea amid the links to Barcelona.
The Spaniard has just one year left on his contract with the Blues after he arrived at Stamford Bridge back in 2016.
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He has made over 200 appearances for the club, but following the signing of Ben Chilwell two seasons ago, the wing-back has fallen out of favour.
With Emerson Palmieri returning from a season long loan with Lyon, Tuchel sees him as the preferred back-up option for Chilwell instead of Alonso.
Earlier this month, Alonso stated: “On paper, I have a contract for one more year and that is where we’re at today. I’ve already said that I would like to play in Spain again, but it doesn’t depend entirely on me.”
He continued, “I can’t complain about anything at Chelsea, but the desire to play in Spain is there. It doesn’t depend entirely on me and I’m happy at Chelsea, honestly.”
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Reports from SPORT in Spain suggest however that Alonso is very close to a move to Barcelona.
He could likely become the Spanish side's next signing, with the two clubs near to reaching an agreement and Tuchel giving the go ahead.
The slight issue at the moment is in the price tag, Chelsea are wanting more than €10 million for the player, but Barcelona feel there is room to negotiate this.
You would expect Chelsea to hold firm with their valuation as Barcelona have already handed the west London side a few blows this summer.
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Raphinha looked set to sign for the Blues just days ago, but it seems the player would prefer a move to the Camp Nou.
On top of this, reports have suggested that they want to settle a deal for long-term Chelsea target Jules Kounde as well.
Chelsea should not be doing Barcelona any favours this window, so it will be interesting to see how these transfers unfold and how Chelsea approach dealing with Xavi Hernandez’s side.
Topics: Marcos Alonso, Chelsea, Barcelona
Sam Collins