Barcelona and Chelsea involved in a transfer tussle for 5 players this summer - Reports

Chelsea and Barcelona are reportedly involved in a tug-of-war for five players this summer. Both clubs are keen to bolster their squad to challenge for trophies in the upcoming season.

As per a report in SPORT, both the sides are interested in signing Raphinha and Jules Kounde. Barcelona's Ousmane Dembele is a target for Chelsea, while Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso are on the Catalan side's radar.

Tuchel is keen on adding fresh faces to his attack and wants to sign Raphinha from Leeds United. Chelsea have reportedly agreed a deal with the Yorkshire side but are yet to agree terms with the Brazilian. Barcelona have since hijacked the move and are in talks with the forward.

Kounde has been a target for the Blues since last summer, but a move is yet to materialize. Xavi is now reportedly interested in bringing him to Camp Nou.

Dembele is yet to pen a new deal at Barca and has become a free agent. The Blues are looking to sign him and are reportedly in talks with his agent.

Azpilicueta and Alonso have a year left on their Chelsea contracts and are targets for Barcelona. Tuchel is open to selling both, with the Blues slapping a 13 million price tag on both players.

Chelsea keen on retaining Barcelona target

Thomas Tuchel has confirmed he wants Cesar Azpilicueta to stay at Chelsea this summer. However, he hinted that the defender is keen to explore his options.

Speaking to the media towards the end of last season, Tuchel was quoted by GOAL saying:

"We had a lot of these talks because very genuinely it felt like he won everything after the Club World Cup, then suddenly given his personal situation I can understand these thoughts that maybe a cycle is at its end. Then it's a change of ownership and he played only under this owner, in this structure, so it maybe increased even his second thoughts about his situation. Then his extension kicked in at the same time and he loves the club, he loves the challenge, he loves to be here and he is our captain."

He added:

"So we are still in dialogue and at some point, we are also selfish, we are not responsible to solve any other club's problems or to fulfil any other club's wishes. Given the fact we lose already key defenders, it's not the ideal scenario to think about losing Azpi, even if I can understand his personal point of view. At some point, if you are a legend, which he is, you deserve maybe also from me and the club, a second look at it, is there is maybe an exception from the rule and we are still in this process."

Azpilicueta joined Chelsea in 2012 and has won every single trophy he has competed for with the Blues.