According to rumors from Spain, Barcelona’s Mateu Alemany and Jordi Cruyff were in London on Thursday to discuss with Chelsea officials about a series of summer acquisitions. The Catalan giants want to get their team in place for the upcoming season as soon as possible in order to dethrone Real Madrid once more.
Andreas Christensen and Franck Kessie, both on free transfers from Chelsea and AC Milan, have already been signed, but Barca aren’t stopping there.
According to SPORT, Alemany and Cruyff traveled to London in the middle of the week to talk with Chelsea officials about the prospect of signing Cesar Azpilicueta, Marcos Alonso, and Romelu Lukaku.
The goal was to determine each player’s availability as Barcelona continues to tighten their summer target list.
Both of the full-backs are said to be definite alternatives on the agenda for Xavi and the board as they hunt further defensive reinforcements.
Before Chelsea triggered an automatic one-year extension provision in his contract, Azpilicueta appeared to be on his way to Barcelona on a free transfer.
Despite the extension, the Blues skipper might yet be on his way back to La Liga, where he previously played for Osasuna.
Meanwhile, Alonso’s current Chelsea deal has two years left on it, but the Spaniard is eager to return to his motherland after spending time in both England and Italy with Bolton Wanderers, Fiorentina, Sunderland, and Chelsea.
Lukaku is expected to be on the market this summer, less than a year after returning to Chelsea for a club-record £97.5 million.
Both AC Milan and Newcastle have been keeping an eye on Lukaku, but the Belgian does not appear interested in either option.
Barcelona would like to sign Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski, but the deal is now on hold.
Bayern Munich are desperate to keep the Poland international until the end of his contract in 2023, but Barcelona will not back down.
If Barca are unable to reach an agreement for Lewandowski, Lukaku is one of the other options on the market that will be considered.
The 28-year-old may depart for the appropriate fee, however Chelsea’s future and new owners are still up in the air.
Barcelona is also interested in Leeds winger Raphinha, and Chelsea were at the top of the line for the Brazilian before Roman Abramovich was sanctioned.
According to the report, it’s not impossible that Leeds executives traveled to London to speak with Barcelona about the player.
Barcelona has shown an interest in signing Raphinha, but they will wait until the conclusion of the season to learn of Leeds’ position before making an official offer.
