Barcelona are reportedly keeping a close eye on three of Chelsea’s prized attackers in Christian Pulisic, Hakim Ziyech and Callum Hudson-Odoi.
According to Sport, FC Barcelona are preparing to raid Chelsea in the pursuit of attacking reinforcements in January. They are closely monitoring the situation of at least three attackers, with the Catalan giants hoping to snap them up on a loan deal, which can later be turned into a permanent transfer.
Christian Pulisic, in particular, has emerged as Barcelona’s desired alternative for top target Raheem Sterling. The USMNT international is open to leaving Stamford Bridge in order to gain regular minutes.
Under the leadership of Thomas Tuchel, the former Borussia Dortmund winger has been handed a bit-part role at Chelsea. He notably started only 18 Premier League matches last season, and this time around, the player has featured only twice, although he has been largely sidelined with an ankle injury.
Pulisic has returned to action recently, notably scoring for USMNT in a crucial fixture against Mexico this midweek. Barcelona are closely monitoring his performances, believing that the Chelsea ace could potentially become the next player to make his way to Camp Nou after Dani Alves in the upcoming January transfer window.
Apart from the USMNT sensation, Barcelona are tracking the situation of Hakim Ziyech. The Moroccan international is almost destined to leave Chelsea sooner or later, having fallen behind Mason Mount, Kai Havertz and Timo Werner in the pecking order. He was recently a target for Borussia Dortmund, but it will be hard for Ziyech to move to the Bundesliga, should Barcelona come calling in January.
Speaking of Dortmund, their former target Callum Hudson-Odoi is the third Chelsea player being monitored by Barcelona. The explosive winger has emerged as a crucial member of the Chelsea frontline lately, starting four of the club’s last five league matches.
However, Hudson-Odoi’s game-time could be lowered once again when Romelu Lukaku gets back to full fitness. Werner, too, was suffering from a strain, which forced Tuchel to try his luck with the young Englishman in the Chelsea attack.
A product of the Chelsea academy, Hudson-Odoi has been largely linked with a move to Bundesliga in the past. But he could well welcome a switch to Barcelona, where he can emerge as a potential replacement for either Philippe Coutinho or Ousmane Dembele – a target for Liverpool.
It won’t be surprising to see Chelsea cashing in on at least one of these three players this January, as they simply have way too many players in the attacking department. It will be an opportunity for Tuchel to raise some funds and step up his efforts to sign a new defender in winter. So, it remains to be seen if Barcelona can sign any of the three attacking players from Chelsea.