Chelsea and Barcelona meet to discuss latest transfer rumors
2. Marcos Alonso
Marcos Alonso has, unfairly, gotten a lot of hate from Chelsea fans during his time in SW6. The Spaniard has consistently been one of the Blues’ best players over the last half decade, and he deserves some recognition for his contributions. Alonso has won almost everything there is to win since moving to west London from Fiorentina in 2016. Chelsea has had four different managers since the versatile fullback arrived on the scene. It has also played in an unimaginable number of formations during the aforementioned span, all of which Alonso has done a job in.
He does turn 32 this year though, and with one year remaining on his current contract, it seems like the perfect time for the two sides to part ways. Alonso wants to return to his home country, something he’s apparently made abundantly clear to the Blues since the 2021/22 season concluded. Luckily for him, he’s a wanted man.
One of the names atop Barcelona’s summer shopping list is the Chelsea left [wing]back. The Blaugrana are relatively thin on the left side of their defense and Alonso represents the perfect depth addition. Furthermore, he will cost next to nothing given his age, contract length and desire to move back to Spain. A cheap alternative option is exactly what Barcelona is looking for at the moment given the club’s economic red flag. Xavi will be getting an experienced player, the Spanish side won’t have to pay an arm and a leg for a veteran and the Blues will get a 30+ year-old off of their books during the new rebuild. Alonso moving makes sense for all parties.
All of that being said, a move hasn’t been finalized just yet, according to Spanish sources. There is still time for Alonso to be a pawn in a much bigger transfer agreement between the two sides. Barca Universal is reporting that the 31-year-old could be a part of Barcelona and Chelsea’s talks over de Jong. Any deal for the Dutch midfielder would see Alonso go the other way to reduce the transfer fee. Truth be told, these rumors seem to be a bit contrived.
It’s hard to imagine any scenario where de Jong joins the Blues this summer. It’s even more unlikely that Alonso would be used as a bargaining chip in any negotiations considering his transfer value is minuscule given the circumstances. When the dust settles and everything is said and done, Alonso will likely be playing in La Liga next season regardless of what happens elsewhere between the two sides. As I stated earlier, it just makes sense for everyone.