Chelsea forward to communicate Barcelona transfer desire to club | OneFootball

Barcelona continue to make what they hope will be material progress towards signing their next number nine, having decided to focus their efforts on Chelsea forward Joao Pedro. He is currently recovering from the blow of missing out on Brazil’s World Cup squad, but it seems he is willing to forge ahead with a move.

Atletico Madrid striker Julian Alvarez was initially cast Barcelona’s first choice, but it seems the Catalan club have given up hope of pulling off a deal unless the Argentina international changes course to force through a move. As such, Pedro has become their priority, and last week Sporting Director Deco reportedly flew to London to meet with his agents.

Joao Pedro to express desire for Barcelona move

The latest is that Pedro will express a desire to move to Barcelona to Chelsea. MD explain that the first enquiry was made in April, and last week, the Blaugrana informed him that he was their priority target. They add that Deco did not meet with Pedro’s agent, despite both attending the FA Cup final. Pedro will do his bit to make the move happen though, with his absence from the Brazil squad another reason for him to desire a bigger stage.

The next step is that Pedro’s agent will communicate a desire to move to Barcelona. They say the deal could be done for around €100m, and that Chelsea will not make a deal easy, but that missing out on Champions League football has increased the need for sales to balance the books at Stamford Bridge.

Joao Pedro’s season at Chelsea

The 24-year-old has had a decent season at Chelsea following his €64m move from Brighton, without setting the world alight. In 49 appearances, he has 20 goals and nine assists for the Blues. Of those outings, 41 were starts, three of his goals came in the Champions League, and 15 of them in the Premier League. He has missed just two games through injury all year.