Transfer Centre

Chelsea 'block Marcos Alonso, Cesar Azpilicueta moves to Barcelona'

By Ben Knapton, Senior Reporter | 26 July 2022

Chelsea 'block Alonso, Azpilicueta moves to Barcelona'

Chelsea reportedly block Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso from joining Barcelona after the La Liga side hijacked their move for Sevilla's Jules Kounde.

Chelsea have reportedly blocked Marcos Alonso and Cesar Azpilicueta's prospective moves to Barcelona in retaliation to the Blaugrana's hijacking of a deal for Jules Kounde.

Kounde has been on the radar of Blues' chiefs for over a year now, and Thomas Tuchel's side tried and failed to secure the 23-year-old's signature during the January window.

Chelsea have since reignited their interest in Kounde and were initially believed to have been close to winning the race for his signature for a £55m fee.

However, Barcelona have now stolen a march on Chelsea in the race for Kounde, who would allegedly rather join Xavi's side than move to Stamford Bridge.

Barca are yet to reach a full agreement with Sevilla over a fee, but there is a growing expectation that Kounde will complete a switch to Catalonia in the coming weeks.

Jules Kounde pictured in March 2021 © Reuters

In the wake of Barca's attempts to snatch Kounde from Chelsea's grasp - as well as poaching Raphinha from Leeds United - Sport claims that Chelsea are no longer willing to sanction Alonso and Azpilicueta's moves to Camp Nou.

The two Spaniards are both out of contract at the end of the upcoming season and have been tipped to head to Barcelona after Andreas Christensen's switch to Catalonia from Chelsea.

However, the Blues are reportedly no longer willing to do business with Barcelona, who also tied Ousmane Dembele down to a new contract amid interest from Tuchel's side.

Tuchel was keen to keep hold of Azpilicueta in any case, with the Chelsea boss already losing Christensen and Antonio Rudiger on free transfers since the end of last season.

Kalidou Koulibaly has arrived to bolster the Blues' defensive ranks, but should Azpilicueta stay at the club, Chelsea may not have a dire need to search for another centre-back.

Cesar Azpilicueta in action for Chelsea in January 2022 © Reuters

Nevertheless, Chelsea are said to be drawing up a list of alternatives to Kounde, including the likes of RB Leipzig's Josko Gvardiol and Villarreal's Pau Torres.

Azpilicueta has amassed 17 goals and 55 assists in 474 appearances for Chelsea since arriving from Marseille in 2012 and is set to enter the 2022-23 season wearing the captain's armband.

Meanwhile, Alonso boasts 29 goals and 23 assists in 211 games for the Blues in all competitions but could now be relegated back down to the bench following Ben Chilwell's return to fitness.

Chelsea are also said to be in the market for a new right-wing back to compete with Reece James, but they have failed in their efforts to hijack Nordi Mukiele's switch to Paris Saint-Germain.

Instead, Tuchel's side have supposedly reignited their interest in Inter Milan's Denzel Dumfries, who is also on the radar of Manchester United.