Chelsea star Joao Pedro to discuss future with Xabi Alonso amid Barcelona interest | OneFootball

Chelsea forward Joao Pedro is set to discuss his future with new manager Xabi Alonso, amid uncertainty over his future. Barcelona have been heavily linked with the Brazil international, who recently was overlooked by Carlo Ancelotti for the World Cup.

Initially Julian Alvarez was circled as Barcelona’s priority for the summer transfer window to replace Robert Lewandowski, but the Catalan side have decided to focus their efforts on Pedro for the time being. The Blaugrana need Alvarez to voice a desire to leave for Barcelona in order to strengthen their position, something he has yet to do, hence their shift in priorities. Ensuring Alvarez is aware of developments regarding a move for Pedro is certainly a way of applying pressure on him to do so.

Joao Pedro to discuss Barcelona exit with Xabi Alonso

For his part, Pedro seems to be keen on a move to Barcelona, after two points of contact between the Catalans and his agent. Sporting Director Deco has supposedly told him that he is their priority target. For his part, El Chiringuito continue on to say that Pedro will speak with Alonso in the coming days to communicate the desire to move to Barcelona. Alonso, when asked about it by the same outlet, said simply ‘We’ll put together a good team’.

‘You’re wrong about Joao Pedro’ – Deco

Meanwhile Deco was present at Barcelona’s title celebration dinner on Wednesday night, and told the media that they were ‘not ruling out anyone’ in their hunt for a striker, and that there was no specific profile he was seeking. ‘You’re wrong about Joao Pedro’, Deco then told Sport, while laughing, but this has not been taken too seriously by the Catalan press. Previous reports have suggested that Pedro could cost as much as €100m to sign, while Barcelona-based media have put the price tag closer to €70m.