Villas-Boas Ready To Swap Ashley Cole For South American Ace

Reports in the Mirror suggest Chelsea may be willing to sell Ashley Cole to Barcelona in order to fund a bid of Porto’s Alvaro Pereira.

Chelsea tried to sign the Uruguayan full back this summer, with a £15m bid reported to have been submitted by the Blues, but the clubs failed to agree terms for the 25-year old.

Pereira is highly regarded in Portugal with former boss Andre Villas-Boas keen to work with the winger for a second time. His admiration for the Porto star has lead to suggestions in the media that Villas-Boas is willing to let Ashley Cole leave for the Camp Nou for around £12million, in order to make room for Pereira.

Barca coach Pep Guardiola regards Cole as the best left-back in the world and has placed the England international as his highest priority next summer.