Barcelona are eyeing up Chelsea trio Christian Pulisic, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Hakim Ziyech as they look to add attacking options in the January transfer window.
That’s according to Sport, who say the Catalan giants could look to ‘fish’ at Stamford Bridge to give Xavi the forward he wants.
The newspaper explains that Barcelona are ‘very clear’ that they want to make signings in January, and they’re particularly keen to improve their attacking midfield options.
The idea of the club is to sign these players on loan, and those in charge of the club have already ‘sounded out’ various operations for players who are not getting regular minutes for their clubs.
The ‘clear target’ is Raheem Sterling, but Manchester City don’t seem willing to accept a loan deal for him and instead want an ‘impossible transfer’.
As a result, Barcelona are looking for alternatives, and Chelsea could be the place where they find them.
The Blues have a squad ‘full of stars,’ and there is a ‘clear overbooking’ in the attacking positions, where top players are not getting the minutes they would expect.
Some have already asked to leave the club in the coming months, and Barcelona have been ‘fully briefed’ on the situation of several of them.
They’re particularly monitoring Christian Pulisic after his recent return from injury, while they have also analysed the situations around Ziyech and Hudson-Odoi. They are three players they consider to have a ‘strong attacking profile’ and ‘good individual technique’.
Pulisic has several enquiries from other teams and knows he needs to leave London to get the first-team minutes that aren’t on offer at Chelsea.
Ziyech, meanwhile, was in Barcelona’s orbit a few seasons ago but instead moved to Stamford Bridge. That move hasn’t worked out, so now could be the time for the switch to the Nou Camp.
Hudson-Odoi, meanwhile, is a highly-rated youngster who would add ‘powerful physique’ and ‘plenty of attacking pace’ to the squad.
All three are options, but Barcelona will go for the player they can get at the ‘lowest possible cost’; with it most likely they will end up signing someone who can play centrally and on the wing, given they’ve lost Sergio Aguero for the next few months.
