Chelsea are reportedly “extremely interested” in signing Barcelona star Ronald Araujo as a possible replacement for Andreas Christensen.
Christensen is a strong goal for Barcelona before the summer transfer window. And in the opposite direction, Chelsea may bring in a player from Barcelona to fill the void he will leave.
Christensen’s contract with Chelsea expires at the end of the season.
He is one of three first-team defenders at Stamford Bridge who are in this position.
Antonio Rudiger and club captain Cesar Azpilicueta also see the end of their deals in the summer.
Azpilicueta is also a target for Barcelona, with Rudiger attracting a lot of attention from all over Europe.
If Chelsea lose more than Christensen, Azpilicueta and Rudiger, it will be inevitable that they will look for a new defender.
Trevoh Chalube shone in his first full season with the first team, and Malang performed well on some occasions.
But Thomas Tuchel will not want to rely on 37-year-old Thiago Silva to play the vast majority of matches.
Barcelona want to keep Araujo, but if a new contract cannot be arranged, they may have to sell this summer to prevent the risk of losing him for free in 2023.
Erling Haaland is Barcelona’s number one target this summer, which is why they prioritized free transfers like Christensen.
Selling Araujo helps raise money for the likes of Haaland.
But it would also leave Barcelona lacking options at the back, with Marca claiming that Samuel Umtiti, Clement Lengle and Oscar Mingusa could all leave this summer.
That would leave 35-year-old Gerard Pique, Eric Garcia and Araujo as the only central defenders before Christensen’s arrival.