Barcelona hope to thrash out a deal for Marcos Alonso by Monday at the latest.
But the Catalan giants’ move for the Chelsea defender is being complicated by the Blues’ interest in Sergino Dest. American full-back Dest, 21, still has three more years to run on his deal at the Nou Camp but he has been told he can leave this summer as he is not part of boss Xavis’s plans.
The initial plan from Barcelona was to try to push his sale back until as late in the transfer window as possible in a bid to drive up his price to as close to £17million as they could.
However, the move by La Liga on Friday to block Barca’s bid to register their new players until they balance the books means getting a deal done to get Dest out of the club is now among their priorities and that is slightly clouding their bid for Alonso.
Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag is also keen on US international Dest, who he worked with at Ajax. But the fact Barca want Alonso puts Chelsea at a slight advantage and movement is expected one way or the other in the next 48 hours.
Alonso is understood to have already said his goodbyes to team-mates and staff at Chelsea’s Cobham training HQ having long since made up his mind to follow in his father’s footsteps by joining Barcelona.
The club have already splashed £150m this summer on Robert Lewandowski, Jules Kounde and Raphinha. And they have also taken Andreas Christensen from Chelsea and Franck Kessie from AC Milan on free transfers.
However, embarrassingly, they have not yet been permitted to register any of their new signings and won’t be until they have brought in significantly more funds to clear some of their debt.
Speaking at Lewandowski’s official unveiling on Friday, Barca president Joan Laporta said: “We have worked to enrol all of them. We have worked hard and productively, in order to meet the requirements.
“And if it is necessary to carry out any more operations, we will do it. We are waiting. It is a decision that La Liga must make. We have complied with what it requires. We are confident that we will be able to register them.”
