Chelsea deal for Barcelona youngster collapsed due to documentation issues - Reports

Chelsea missed a major transfer coup when they failed to sign Barcelona starlet Ansu Fati early into his footballing career, according to Italian outlet Calciomercato (via Football London).

Chelsea have a reputation for signing young upcoming talent for their youth team. Reports suggest the Blues could have signed Barcelona's new No.10 Ansu Fati before he signed his first professional contract with the Catalan giants.

According to the aforementioned source, Chelsea had a deal with Ansu Fati's father agreed and a deal was signed. However, Fati faced problems with his passport which saw a move to Stamford Bridge break down. The 18-year-old attacker then penned a contract with Barcelona.

Chelsea were not the only club interested in signing a young Ansu Fati. The Spaniard had also attracted various European clubs including Juventus, West Ham United and Nice.

Ansu Fati was extremely close to joining Ligue 1 side Nice during the 2018-19 season. According to Spanish outlet Sport, Nice were so confident of signing the future Barcelona star that they even offered his father a jersey with the No.9. However, the deal never materialized because of a similar passport issue.

This is not the first time Chelsea have failed to sign a young future star. Paris Saint-Germain superstar Kylian Mbappe was also another player who slipped through Chelsea's fingers. Mbappe went on trial with the Blues in 2012. However, Chelsea did not sign the future World Cup-winner due as they felt Mbappe did not offer much defensively.

Today both Ansu Fati and Kylian Mbappe are tipped to become global superstars in the future. The pair could clash in the El Clasico if Mbappe joins Real Madrid in the near future.

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Chelsea and Barcelona have had contrasting starts to the new season

Ansu Fati has inherited Lionel Messi's No.10 jersey at Barcelona

Chelsea had a minor dip in form when they suffered back-to-back 1-0 defeats at the hands of Manchester City and Juventus. However, the Blues recovered from their slump by beating Southampton 3-1 right before heading into the international break. Chelsea are currently a point above second-placed Liverpool in the Premier League table.

Meanwhile, Barcelona have had a poor start to the new season, particularly in the Champions League. The Catalan giants lost both of their Champions League games by 3-0 against Bayern Munich and Benfica, which has heaped pressure on manager Ronald Koeman.

Barcelona are not doing too well in La Liga either. Following their 2-0 loss to Atletico Madrid, Blaugrana are ninth in the table with 12 points from their first 7 matches.