Cancelo puts Chelsea and Barcelona on alert
Valencia right-back Joao Cancelo is all set to be sold at the end of this season as the club are facing a fight to balance their books. According to reports from Marca, Los Che have put a £26m price-tag on Cancelo’s head with Chelsea and Barcelona interested in the defender.
The reports claim that Valencia owner Peter Lim has already conveyed his decision to Cancelo’s agent, Jorge Mendes. Both Barcelona and Chelsea are looking to bolster their right-back slot next season and are targeting the 22-year-old defender.
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Barcelona confident of signing Cedric
Barcelona have moved a step closer to signing Southampton’s promising right-back Cedric Soares, according to reports from Calciomercato. The Catalans are prepared to pay £25 million, which is five times the amount the Saints paid for the Portuguese back in 2015.
Calciomercato claims that Barca are eager to sign a right-back to solve their defensive crisis which has arisen due to Dani Alves’ sale and Aleix Vidal’s season-ending injury. Manager Luis Enrique has been forced to play a three-man defence in recent matches.
The Spanish giants are keen on signing a defender next season and names like Joao Cancelo and Nelson Semedo are also on the shortlist to make a move to Camp Nou later in the summer.
Xavi’s word of advice for his former club
Former Barcelona skipper Xavi Hernandez has identified PSG’s Marco Verratti as the ideal man to solve Barcelona’s midfield worries, according to a report from AS. Xavi believes that Verratti is one of the best midfielders in the game right now and given his physical stature, it would take him little time to adjust to Barcelona’s playing style.
Xavi has also likened the young Italian to himself when he used to dominate Barcelona’s midfield. Xavi’s claims are backed by reports from Football Italia, who claim that PSG are ready to sell the Italian if they get an offer in excess of £70 million. Chelsea and Manchester United are also interested in signing the midfielder.
Alonso reveals Barcelona talks
Chelsea wing-back Marcos Alonso has revealed he held talks with Barcelona before joining Chelsea. Alonso eventually signed for the Blues in a £23m deal from Fiorentina after Antonio Conte moved in personally to ensure the transfer went through.
In an interview with IBTimes, Alonso said: "Well, I think there were some conversations [with Barcelona] but the truth is that at that point it was not in my plans to leave Fiorentina. It was only when the interest from Chelsea arrived in the summer when I started to consider to make a change."
