Barcelona are all set to shell out some big bucks for Chelsea’s 26-year-old wing-back Marcos Alonso.
According to a report by Mundo Deportivo, Chelsea’s wing-back Marcos Alonso is being pursued by Barcelona as the Catalonian giants look to strengthen their backline.
The same report also claims that he is seen as the new ‘Eric Abdidal’ by Barcelona, and the club is ready to make a significant effort to sign the defender even if Chelsea are reluctant to let him leave.
Interestingly, Alonso started his career at Real Madrid but only made one substitute appearance for Barcelona’s arch rivals, which came as a 90th-minute replacement back in April 2010.
Alonso then signed for Chelsea last summer after spending three seasons at Serie-A club Fiorentina. At that point, Chelsea spent £24 million to sign Alonso, who has also played for Bolton Wanderers and Sunderland earlier. However, now they might lose him to Barcelona.
Initially, he was seen as a part time player for the Blues. Ever since Conte joined, he brought in the remarkable 3-4-3 formation switch, and that has worked out brilliantly for Alonso. Along with Victor Moses, Alonso has managed to work his magic for Chelsea’s backline.
Conte’s men confirmed their title win with a 1-0 win over West Brom on Friday, and Alonso has been in excellent form for Chelsea throughout this season. In fact, he has even registered six goals and three assists.
Essentially, Alonso has now been part of a team thats on its way to pick up their second Premier League title in three years, and that has attracted the big bosses over at Barcelona.
Luis Enrique considers Alonso as the ideal replacement for Jordi Alba in the starting XI. Or if not replacement, he can at least bring about some competition which can extract the best performances out of both players.
Although Enrique signed Lucas Digne last summer, things have not improved ever since he arrived and has been unable to maintain a consistent spot in the team. Thus, Alonso is being eyed as a potential first team member.
However, Chelsea might not be willing to sell a player who has become indispensible since their 3-4-3 formation switch, and if Luis Enrique is serious about this, Barcelona will have to try hard to convince Alonso to join the club.
