Why Chelsea’s Marcos Alonso Would Be A Great Signing For Barcelona
Barcelona were linked with a move to sign Chelsea left wing-back Marcos Alonso throughout the summer but a move did not materialise. With the January window coming closer, the Catalan giants are understood to be reviving their interest in Alonso.
Interestingly, Alonso started his career at Real Madrid but only made one substitute appearance for Barcelona’s arch-rivals back in April 2010.
Alonso then signed for Chelsea last summer after spending three seasons at Serie-A club Fiorentina. At that point, Chelsea spent £24m to sign Alonso, who had also played for Bolton Wanderers and Sunderland earlier. However, now they might lose him to Barcelona.
Initially, he was seen as a part-time player for the Blues. When Conte took over at Chelsea, he brought in the remarkable 3-4-3 formation switch, and that has worked out brilliantly for Alonso. Along with Victor Moses, Alonso has managed to work his magic for Chelsea’s backline.
The fact that he could possibly depart for Barcelona will undoubtedly come as a major concern for Conte. After all, he did fork out quite an amount of money to sign him from Fiorentina, and he has proven to be worth every penny.
Having said that, Alonso could prove to be a valuable addition for Barcelona. The player has only gone from strength-to-strength with the Blues, and is capable of making quite an impact at the back. Moreover, there are very few realistically attainable left-backs in the market, and none better than Alonso. Luring him away from Stamford Bridge may prove to be tough and it remains to be seen how Barcelona tempt Chelsea into a sale.
If the move goes through, Ernesto Valverde will deploy the Chelsea left wing-back as a replacement for Jordi Alba, as he is believed to be unimpressed with the full-back’s performances thus far. The ex-Valencia star has helped the club to three league titles and a Champions League trophy in 2015, but his performances of late have been below average. Although Lucas Digne is Barca’s current back-up option in the position, the manager is said to want improvements on his current options, thus making Alonso an ideal choice.
Furthermore, Alonso already has La Liga experience so making the switch is unlikely to hamper his performances in any sense. However, the move could prove to be rather risky for Chelsea considering they have no other quality option in that area. If Conte brings in reinforcements over the January transfer window, Alonso could be on his way to join Camp Nou.