caughtoffside
·13 October 2021
caughtoffside
·13 October 2021
That’s according to a recent report from Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo, who claims the Catalan side are shying away from making bumper purchases and will instead opt to pursue players who are nearing the end of their current contracts.
Ronaldo Koeman’s side has been credited with having an extensive shortlist, which alongside the likes of Manchester United’s Paul Pogba and AC Milan’s Franck Kessie, is also understood to include a trio of Chelsea stars.
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It has been claimed that Barcelona’s recruitment team have earmarked Cesar Azpilecueta, Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen as possible summer additions.
All three players are out of contract at Stamford Bridge in just under 12-months time and despite the trio playing important roles for manager Thomas Tuchel, none have yet to sign an extension.
Cesar Azpilicueta (left), Antonio Rudiger (right) and Andreas Christensen (not pictured) are all out of contract with Chelsea next summer.
For Chelsea fans, these latest reports will certainly cause some concern – especially considering all three players make up the majority of the side’s defensive line, which is often made up of five players.
Given each player’s contributions during last season’s Champions League-winning campaign, it would be fair to assume that high on the Londoner’s ‘to-do list’ before the New Year will be tying down each defender on a new contract.
Failure to reach an agreement with a squad player, whose contract is set to expire next summer, could result in the player agreeing to a pre-contract with a foreign club as early as January 2022 and in turn would see them move on at the end of the season, for free.