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Chelsea left-back Marcos Alonso plans to travel to Barcelona on Wednesday (August 31) to complete his long-awaited move to the Catalan club, as per Sport.
Barcelona have long been linked with a move for Chelsea left-back Alonso. Barca already have Jordi Alba and Alex Balde in their ranks, but Xavi seemingly wants to add more experience to his squad. Alonso, who has been with the Blues since joining from Fiorentina in 2016, is reportedly Xavi's preferred choice at left-back.
As per the aforementioned source, Alonso’s transfer is set to be sealed imminently, with the player preparing to fly from London to Barcelona to sign the contract. The player is expected to land at El Prat airport between Wednesday afternoon and night.
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Barcelona might have to facilitate a few departures to add Alonso to their roster. The player, who is aware of the situation, is reportedly keeping a close eye on the departures from the Blaugrana squad.
Since joining Chelsea ahead of the 2016-17 season, Alonso has featured in 212 games for the club across competitions, recording 29 goals and 23 assists. He has helped the club to six trophies, including a Premier League title and one Champions League trophy.
Chelsea endure a worrying start to the 2022-23 Premier League campaign
Last season, Thomas Tuchel’s side finished in third place in the Premier League, behind winners Manchester City and runners-up Liverpool. They were not in the title race at the business end of the season, but their Champions League qualification was never in question.
This season, they have endured a rather shaky start to the English top flight. They started their campaign with a win but dropped five points in the next two games, drawing with Tottenham Hotspur and losing to Leeds United, respectively. On matchday four, they bounced back with a narrow 2-1 win against Leicester City but fell to a 2-1 defeat on Tuesday (August 30) against Southampton.
Chelsea have accumulated only seven points from their five Premier League games thus far.
Their return of seven points is their worst (after five games) in the Premier League since the 2015-16 campaign. That season, they finished in 10th place and coach Jose Mourinho was sacked in December. Unless Tuchel finds a way to get things in order, he could endure the same fate before the year turns.
