Chelsea are reportedly planning to make a move to sign Barcelona midfielder Marc Casado in January, as per TEAMtalk.
After thrashing the Blaugrana and delivering an impressive performance against Arsenal despite being a man down last month, many believed the Blues might be able to challenge on all fronts this season.
However, having failed to win the last three games in all competitions, losing twice, they are currently out of the conversation to win the Premier League title. They are fifth in the table with 25 points from 15 matches, sitting eight points behind the league leaders, Arsenal.
On the other hand, after losing to Atalanta in the Champions League, the West London club are currently out of the top eight positions.
In the meantime, with the January window around the corner, Chelsea are planning to remain active to sign more new faces. TEAMtalk claim that despite already having Moisés Caicedo, Enzo Fernández, Romeo Lavia, Dario Essugo, and Andrey Santos as options for the midfield department, Chelsea are planning to add further depth to this area.
The reason behind that is, Lavia has continued to struggle with fitness problems, while Essugo has been out injured since the start of this season. As a result, Enzo Maresca has been forced to use Malo Gusto and Reece James in midfield to provide cover.
Casado to Chelsea
Chelsea have identified Casado, valued at around £26m by Transfermarkt, as a serious target as they believe the 22-year-old would be an ideal option to play in Maresca’s possession-based system.
The Spaniard has struggled to find regular game time at Barcelona thus far this season due to the presence of Pedri and Frenkie de Jong, while Hansi Flick has used Eric Garcia in the engine room ahead of Casado.
Furthermore, Gavi, Fermin Lopez, Marc Bernal, and Dani Olmo are the options the Blaugrana have for this position. So, Chelsea have been monitoring his situation closely before making a potential swoop.
The report say that Hansi Flick doesn’t want to weaken his squad in mid-season, so he wants to keep hold of Casado. However, Casado might be open to leaving to play regularly, which would give Chelsea the encouragement to secure his service next month.
