It seems that at every turn, Barcelona and Chelsea are condemned to meet this transfer window.
Barcelona have been heavily linked with Chelsea defenders Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso, while the Blues have been mentioned as alternative option for Frenkie de Jong too. In addition, the two have competed for the signatures of Raphinha, Kalidou Koulibaly and most recently, they appear to be battling it out for Sevilla’s Jules Kounde.
With Barcelona coming out on top in the case of Raphinha and perhaps being best-placed to do so with Kounde, reports emerged that Chelsea might be considering blocking the departures of Azpilicueta and Alonso in retaliation.
However Sport say that this is not the case. According to the Catalan daily, in spite of their clashes, the clubs maintain a fluid communication and are still in negotiations for Cesar Azpilicueta. This was also backed up by Partidazo Cope.
💥Azpilicueta:
👉La relación Barça-Chelsea continua siendo buena, fluida. Siguen las conversaciones para su fichaje. A pesar del choque de intereses en este mercado.
👉 El Barça quiere incorporar un defensa y un lateral.
👉Azpilicueta confía en que se cierre. @partidazocope— Helena Condis Edo (@HelenaCondis) July 26, 2022
They go on to say that Azpilicueta is confident that a deal will be done too. Given negotiations have gone on for some time, it would be safe to assume he has a guarantee from the club, if he does indeed remain confident.
The number of rumours regarding Alonso have quietened in recent weeks. If that is anything to go by, it appears that Barcelona are prioritising Azpilicueta first and a replacement left-back for Jordi Alba remains towards the bottom of the list.
