Report: Chelsea favourites to sign £42m Spanish star ahead of Man City & Man Utd

In line with Spanish outlet Sport, Chelsea are displaying essentially the most curiosity in signing Barcelona left-back Alejandro Balde forward of Manchester Metropolis and Manchester United.

The London giants have spent greater than £1 billion on new signings since their takeover from Clearlake Capital Group final yr however they proceed to lag behind their rivals within the race for the Champions League locations.

Chelsea are presently tenth within the desk after 18 video games into the marketing campaign and as issues stand, they’ve an enormous mountain to climb with 14 factors separating them from Tottenham Hotspur for the 4th spot within the desk.

Supervisor Mauricio Pochettino has been fairly vocal concerning the want for extra signings and Sport declare that Chelsea are main the race forward of Man Metropolis and Man United within the switch pursuit of Balde.

The supply declare that the Blues have proven most curiosity in touchdown the La Masia graduate and the participant is conscious that he has the chance to enhance his wage with a transfer to Stamford Bridge.

The left-back just isn’t seeking to go away the Catalan giants in the meanwhile, however super-agent Jorge Mendes has already knowledgeable the Blaugrana about the potential for promoting his consumer subsequent summer season.

Potential switch

Chelsea have had a troublesome time within the left-back division this season. They began off with Ben Chilwell from the place earlier than he suffered a hamstring harm. Marc Cucurella was used within the position thereafter, however the Spaniard has additionally been dominated out for a number of months after present process a knee surgical procedure.

Levi Colwill has performed because the makeshift left-back on a lot of events this season, however he has not regarded comfy from the place. Ian Maatsen is another choice at Pochettino’s disposal, however he has solely performed off the bench and appears more likely to go away the membership in both January or on the finish of the season.

Chilwell just isn’t far-off from making his comeback and it stays to be seen whether or not he can unscathed for the rest of the marketing campaign. No matter this, the Blues might need to spend on a strong competitor and Balde could be a really perfect match for them because of his younger age and immense room for improvement.

The £42 million star is an attacking full-back and would completely match into the Blues’ switch coverage of signing rising gamers. The large query mark is whether or not Chelsea can persuade him to maneuver to Stamford Bridge as they appear on the right track to overlook out on Champions League soccer for the 2nd-straight marketing campaign.