Barcelona agree €25m signing of Chelsea winger target? Here’s what it would mean for Marcus Rashford | OneFootball

Barcelona are poised to beat Chelsea in the race for Portuguese gem Cardoso Varela as they have agreed a €25million (£22m / $29m) deal for his services, according to a report.

Mundo Deportivo claim Barcelona are ready to pay Dinamo Zagreb an initial €5m, plus €20m in add-ons, for Varela’s future signing. As the winger has only just turned 17, he will not be able to officially join Barcelona for at least another year.

Nevertheless, Barca chiefs ‘celebrate’ the fact they have beaten other big clubs – most notably Chelsea – to Varela’s capture. The Blaugrana are ‘closely monitoring’ his development and are in ‘regular contact’ with his agent, Andy Bara.

Who is Cardoso Varela?

The good relationship between Bara and Deco, Barca’s sporting director, has helped to speed up the agreement. Bara represents Barca stars Dani Olmo and Joan Garcia, as well as Lovro Chelfi, an 18-year-old who recently swapped Dinamo Zagreb’s academy for Barca’s.

Hansi Flick’s side have been keeping tabs on Varela for several months and ramped up their interest after he made his Dinamo Zagreb debut in August.

The starlet, who loves to cut inside on his stronger right foot, netted his first senior goal against Malmo in the Europa League on October 23. He smashed home from just a yard out after good work by Monsef Bakrar, which saw Dinamo Zagreb snatch a late draw away from home.

Barca set to sign another wonderkid

Varela has been described as an aggressive forward who uses his blistering pace and superb dribbling to take on opposition defenders. While he is far from the finished article, it is clear Varela has top-class potential.

Reports in Spain claimed on October 15 that Chelsea were also tracking the teenager ahead of a future move, but they have seemingly missed out as Barca have acted first.

Online Barca fans typically categorise Mundo Deportivo in tier 2-3 on their ranking systems, describing the paper somewhere between mostly reliable and slightly unreliable.

As such, Barca may indeed hold interest in Varela, though we must wait for other sources to confirm whether an agreement has been reached for him.

How can Flick land both Varela and Rashford?

Earlier in October, it emerged that Barca may only be able to afford one of Varela or Marcus Rashford due to financial constraints.

Rashford joined on loan from Manchester United in the summer, and Barca have an option to buy worth €30m (£26m / $35m).

Therefore, if Mundo Deportivo’s claim about Varela joining is true, then it could put the permanent signing of Rashford in some doubt.

However, as Varela will not join until January 2027 at the earliest, Barca should have time to move around their finances to afford both wingers.

Ronald Araujo, Marc Casado and Olmo are just some of the players Barca could put on the market to increase the funds at their disposal.

Flick will not want to miss out on Rashford’s signing, as the Englishman has taken his game to the next level this season. So far, Rashford has notched five goals and seven assists in 13 appearances.

Rashford has put the drama of his United spell behind him and quickly established himself as an important player for Flick.