Barcelona and Chelsea set to complete ‘imminent’ swap deal

Barcelona and Chelsea have had some exchanges in the recent transfer windows, with the most recent one being that of Pedro who went to London in 2015.

Chelsea star Willian Borges was linked with a transfer out of the Stamford Bridge over the last summer. Manchester United and Barcelona have been keeping tabs on the Brazil international, with interest from the Spanish champions hitting a serious height. The Catalans made as many as three bids in the previous transfer period with their highest attempt being worth 55 million pounds, according to the Express UK.

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However, Chelsea stayed put on their stance of holding onto the 30-year-old after Maurizio Sarri arrived in west London. Willian has been in and out of the Blues’ team, though, and at times, he has had to make way for Pedro who is enjoying a rich run of form in recent weeks in the Premier League. Barcelona are once again likely to exhibit interest in Willian and in all probability, they will sign him in January imminently.

El Blaugrana are willing to shell out 75 million pounds for the Brazilian winger and might also send Malcom Oliviera to west London as part of the deal. The 21-year-old has played only 25 minutes of football over the course of 11 La Liga matches so far in the season and in spite of getting his first goal for the club in the Champions League game against Inter Milan, Malcom’s chances of playing regularly seem to be bleak.

Opinion

To be honest, adding Willian to their roster will be absolutely pointless for Barcelona even if Malcom does get consigned to the Stamford Bridge. On top of that, checking out a 75 million pounds’ price tag and potentially seeing Malcom go for a 30-year-old would make the Camp Nou outfit look like a laughing-stock in the transfer market. On the right wing, Barcelona as it is boast Lionel Messi who is continuing strongly.

Philippe Coutinho is available on the left wing where Willian can play as well, but again, it does not make sense spending so much cash on a player who may not even feature regularly. As it is, Barcelona have Ousmane Dembele in their squad too, so they should turn their attentions away from Willian and invest those funds on a central defender or striker instead. However, on Chelsea’s part, their accounts will get a large bump up if Willian goes for 75 million pounds.

How much do you think is the correct price for Willian?