What’s the story?
According to Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona have made Marcos Alonso their no. 1 priority this summer. The left-wingback has just won the Premier League with Chelsea and has played a vital role in their season.
Barcelona are on the hunt for a left-back as the club is reportedly not happy with Jordi Alba. They feel that he is not 'good enough' for the club and are searching for a replacement.
In case you didn’t know...
Barcelona scouted Alonso last summer, but the defender opted to join Chelsea. Fiorentina had agreed a deal with the Spanish side and the Premier League and had given the player the option of choosing his club.
The Catalan side had to find alternatives and ended up signing Lucas Digne from Paris Saint-Germain. The 23-year-old France international has made just 16 appearances in La Liga this season and has failed to impress.
Alonso is a Real Madrid youth product and has played just one time for the Blancos' first team. That one appearance was also a two-minute cameo at the end of a game.
The heart of the matter
Marcos Alonso has played a crucial role in Chelsea's title-winning season and has caught the eyes of the Barcelona board once more. He was snapped up by Chelsea for £24 million last summer.
Barcelona were hoping to sign Theo Hernandez from Atletico Madrid when the transfer window opened, but Real Madrid swooped in and signed him up. He has reportedly passed his medical at Bernabeu as well.
Alonso however, is not the first Chelsea player Barcelona have targetted in recent times. They approached Chelsea for Cesar Azpilicueta last summer but were told that he was not for sale at any cost
What’s next?
Barcelona will try and persuade Chelsea to sell Alonso in the summer. The Catalan side are looking to replace Jordi Alba and Lucas Digne and might end up offering one of the two players in the deal as a sweetener.
Chelsea however, will rebuff all approaches as Antonio Conte wants him to continue as a wingback next season as well. They do have players who can replace him in their squad itself, but the manager will be keen on holding on to all the players he has right now.
Author’s Take
Barcelona can sign a better left back than Alonso, but the decision to go for the Chelsea man is based on two things. One reason that he is a Spaniard and the other is that he is a former Real Madrid player. With Madrid plotting moves for former Barca players, the Catalan side want to do something similar.
