Barcelona were eyeing a move for Chelsea full-back Marcos Alonso has Junior Firpo completed a move away from the club on deadline day.
That’s according to Mundo Deportivo, who say that Barça were unable to secure a loan deal for the Spaniard.
They explain that there was a chance that Firpo could leave the Nou Camp in the January transfer window, having found himself out of the picture under Ronald Koeman this season.
AC Milan were keen on a deal and negotiated with Barcelona over a loan move, with the two sides said to be ‘close to reaching an agreement’.
Had Firpo left it would have meant the La Liga side were short of cover at left-back and Barcelona’s technical secretariat had planned a replacement had it gone through.
That man was Chelsea’s Marcos Alonso, who had been ‘ostracised’ at the club by former manager Frank Lampard this season.
However, in the end, Milan failed to convince Firpo to swap Spain for Italy, which was fortunate as Barcelona were similarly unable to negotiate a loan deal with Chelsea for Alonso.
Thus, everyone ended up staying where they were, which may have worked out well for Alonso, who is now enjoying a revival under Lampard’s replacement Thomas Tuchel.
