Barcelona is just one brink away from signing Marcos Alonso

La Liga heavyweights Barcelona is reportedly just one brink of signing 31-year-old Spanish full-back Marcos Alonso from Premier League club Chelsea. The Catalan newspaper says that Alonso's agent, Vali Ramadan, is in Barcelona to meet the officials there, as the deal between the duo must be closed and it will only remain for Barcelona to announce it officially after that, and transfer expert Fabrizio Romano also stated that the deal is about to expire. The Blaugrana asked Alonso to wait for them to resolve their scoring issues before completing the deal, something they hope to do this week, and it is assumed that Alonso has asked coach Thomas Tuchel not to play with him until his future is resolved. If the deal is completed, which should be for a fee of close to €10m, it would, in turn, lead to Alejandro Balde's departure, as the 18-year-old had been impressive in pre-season, but Alonso's arrival would mean a loan move for Baldi so he can of continuing to evolve. With Alonso at 31, some have questioned the wisdom of spending money on an older defender to support Jordi Alba rather than giving his minutes to Baldi, but coach Xavi Hernandez was clear that he wanted two quality alternatives in every position and Baldi is still young and lacking in expertise.
Marcos Alonso has been a divisive figure for Chelsea fans since arriving at the Premier League club from Fiorentina in August 2016. The Spaniard has been in and out of the starting lineups at Chelsea throughout his stint with the Blues but has delivered the goods more often than not, especially when reprising an advanced role on the left flank.
Reputed Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano has claimed that it is only a “matter of time” before Marcos Alonso joins Barcelona in the ongoing transfer window. Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has hinted at the 31-year-old full-back’s imminent move to Camp Nou, revealing that the Barcelona target has requested his departure from Stamford Bridge.