Chelsea to cause havoc at Barcelona after stealing Messi’s main man
A few weeks ago rumours had sparked that Lionel Messi wanted Nicolas Tagliafico from Ajax Amsterdam to sign for Barcelona this season along with either Neymar or Lautaro Martinez from Inter Milan, as the Argentine captain of Barca is keen on having his winning squad promise fulfilled by the board before he retires.
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Last season there was speculation regarding a move for Nicolas Tagliafico to one of the major five leagues of Europe since the player had entered the peak years of his career and was mentally prepared to make the big jump out of the Netherlands top-flight division league.
This season, Lionel Messi has considered his compatriot from the Netherlands to be the ideal replacement for Jordi Alba who has struggled with fitness and has lost a yard of pace due to his recent injuries along with his age. Nicolas Tagliafico was priced at 30 million euros, a figure that Bartomeu could not resist given their current financial downfall, however, reports from Spain state that Chelsea have now entered the race to sign the Argentine defender.
Chelsea has considered signing the soon to be 28-year-old left-back since Marcos Alonso might be on his way out this season after struggling for game time under Frank Lampard despite performing better than Emerson who was handed four more games than the Spaniard.
Although Barcelona currently faces a severe financial crisis, the Blues of London are financially capable of making big moves this summer. This summer, Chelsea let their legend, Eden Hazard, sign for Real Madrid for 100 million euros as their 29-year-old winger was on the final year of his contract and the club could not afford to let a player of his stature walk out for free. The tactical genius work carried out by the board at the Stamford Bridge has now made the club favourites to sign Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund and Nicolas Tagliafico from Ajax Amsterdam.
However, in the end, the choice to sign for either clubs is on the hands of Tagliafico and his agent who have a long summer to contemplate on which club would profit the 27-year-old Argentine footballer the best.