On January 6th, Mundo Deportivo reported Barcelona are looking for players who have contracts expiring in less than six months, or in 2023.
Andreas Christensen falls into the former category as he is out of contract at Chelsea at the end of the season. It was also explained the La Liga side are working to close a deal for a four-year contract, with an option to further extend it by a year.
Ronald Araújo ‘fractured the second and third metacarpal bones in his right hand’ during his side’s 2-1 Copa del Rey win over Linares and will go under the knife today. Sport claim the Uruguayan’s latest injury ‘set off alarms’ at the Camp Nou.
Xavi Hernández’s side ‘feared the worst’ and the possibility of bringing a new centre-back in the winter market was ‘envisioned’.
The La Liga side, however, will not invest in a new centre-back in January because Araújo should be back in a month, ‘if all goes well’, and will instead look to strengthen the position next summer. Barcelona sporting leaders have ‘already advanced some steps’ and Christensen is one of their main targets.
It’s claimed the Catalan club have been working on the Denmark international’s signing 
‘for months’, and this has led the defender to reject several renewal offers made by the Blues.
Sport state that if Xavi’s side ‘activate the operation’, Christensen will be a ‘new Barcelona player very soon’. The deal to bring the Dane to Camp Nou is ‘advanced’ for June, when the Chelsea man will be available on a free transfer.
The newspaper adds it could be a ‘profitable operation’, financial and sporting wise, considering Christensen’s age, qualities and the time left on his current contract at Chelsea.
