Marcos Alonso’s move to Barcelona is in the ‘final stages’ with talks scheduled as the Spaniard nears Chelsea exit, according to reports.
Chelsea look set to lose out on another one of their defenders this summer as Barcelona are close to acquiring the services of wing-back Alonso.
The Blues have already seen two of their centre-backs complete moves to Spain this transfer window, with Antonio Rudiger heading to Real Madrid and Andreas Christensen joining Barcelona on free transfers.
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The backline has been left depleted, and while Kalidou Koulibaly has been acquired in a £34 million move from Napoli, Chelsea still have other improvements to make.
While central defenders have been made the priority, with Chelsea linked to the likes of Matthijs de Ligt and Nathan Ake earlier in the window and currently still in the saga for Jules Kounde, the Blues are looking for a wing-back as well.
Alonso has fallen out of favour in the squad, with him becoming the third choice on that left-hand side, behind Ben Chilwell and Emerson Palmieri, he would play little involvement in the upcoming season.
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Signing for the Blues in 2016 under the management of Antonio Conte, Alonso quickly established himself as a unique goalscoring wing-back.
In recent years, he has become a rotation player for Chelsea, last season he appeared in 25 Premier League games due to Chilwell’s season-ending injury.
This season however, Chilwell looks set to retake his position as his injury has healed and with the return of Emerson, who was on loan at Olympique Lyonnais last year, it has seen Alonso fall down the pecking order.
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Chelsea have been regularly involved in transfer business so far this window with Barcelona.
The Catalan club swooped in for Blues target Raphinha and stole him at the last moment and they are looking to do the same with Kounde.
It still looks as though they are willing to complete a deal with the Spanish side for Alonso though.
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Christian Falk reports that the transfer of Alonso to Barcelona is now at the final stage, and the final negotiations are planned to take place following Chelsea’s return from their United States pre-season tour.
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Alongside Alonso, Barcelona have also been in talks with the west London side for their captain, Cesar Azpilicueta.
However, the Blues are not willing to let the 32-year-old go in cut-price deal.
Head coach Thomas Tuchel keen that Chelsea strengthen their own defence before losing yet another player.
Previous reports have suggested that Barcelona’s deal for Azpilicueta is still ‘very well on track’.
Featured Image Credit: Chelsea FCTopics: Marcos Alonso, Chelsea, Barcelona, Chelsea Transfer News & Rumours, Football
