Chelsea is trying to take advantage of Manchester United target Sergino Dest being on Tuchel’s radar while Marcos Alonso is close to signing with Barcelona.
By Monday at the latest, Barcelona hopes to reach a deal with Marcos Alonso.
The Blues’ interest in Sergino Dest, though, complicates the Catalan giants’ pursuit of the Chelsea defender. Dest, a 21-year-old American full-back, has three more years left on his contract at the Nou Camp but has been told he can go this summer since he is not in manager Xavis’s plans.
The initial plan from Barcelona was to try to push his sale back until as late in the transfer window as possible in a bid to drive up his price to as close to £17million as they could.
Although getting a deal done to get Dest out of the club is now one of their objectives, La Liga’s decision to prevent Barca’s attempt to register their new players until they balance their books is casting a shadow over their pursuit of Alonso.
US national Dest, with whom ten Hag collaborated at Ajax, is also a favorite of the Manchester United manager. However, the fact that Barcelona wants Alonso gives Chelsea a little advantage, and movement is anticipated in either direction over the course of the next 48 hours.
Alonso is believed to have already said goodbye to his teammates and staff at Chelsea’s Cobham training facility after deciding to join the club in order to follow in his father’s footsteps.
This summer, the club has already spent £150 million on Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, and Jules Kounde. Additionally, they snatched up free agents Andreas Christensen from Chelsea and Franck Kessie from AC Milan.
Unfortunately, they are not yet authorized to register any of their new signings and won’t be until they have raised a sizable sum of money to help them pay off some of their debt.
We have worked to enroll all of them, Barca president Joan Laporta stated at Lewandowski’s formal introduction on Friday. We have put in a lot of effort and produced a lot of work to match the requirements.
“And if any additional operations are required, we will complete them. We’re holding out. La Liga must make a choice in this matter. We have followed its instructions. We have faith in our ability to register them.
