Chelsea's summer toils in the transfer market might be about to be rewarded. Barcelona were the common block for several deals that Todd Boehly pushed for and in the end the only direct business between the two was the transfer of Marcos Alonso and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
That doesn't tell half of the story though. The Blues were ready to pounce on Ousmane Dembele's contract early on as issues arose, but he re-signed. Andreas Christensen had already agreed to leave Chelsea following the end of his own deal. Frenkie de Jong was a target throughout the summer but chose to remain in Catalonia despite ongoing wage problems there.
When it came to competing for players, Barcelona got the jump on other teams and secured Robert Lewandowski, meanwhile Raphinha back out of a move to London despite agreeing a fee to join Chelsea, only to announce his dream of playing in red and blue. Perhaps the biggest saga of all was Jules Kounde, who had a similar change of heart to Barcelona having spent most of the previous 12-months effectively waiting to hold up a Chelsea shirt.
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To say that there was tension and an intertwined inevitability about transfer connections wouldn't do the situation justice. That could be about to change though. Such is the financial turmoil at Camp Nou, their previous summer of work has already backfired. Xavi saw his men crash out of the Champions League in the group stage and could be a giant price to pay, literally.
Whilst Chelsea merely sit back and watch as these events unfold, they've got the upper hand in securing one of the stars of tomorrow, it seems. Barcelona had been one of the numerous interested parties in Palmeiras wonderkid Endrick, but his £52m release clause is too much for the Spanish giants, according to Marca.
Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea, and a host of top clubs have all expressed their desire to bring in the 16-year-old star forward, but his huge price tag, plus the risk of signing a player that young, is too much for Xavi's men despite their interest. Marca also report that Barcelona did their own due dilligence to convince him about a move to Spain, welcoming him to the stadium.
Chelsea have done that with Endrick themselves, using Thiago Silva a persuasive role model during a tour of their facilities. Meanwhile, PSG have Brazilian superstar Neymar to act in a similar way, Vinicius Jr is Real Madrid's own equivalent.
Although the battle to sign him - which would be on a deal agreed in 2023 ahead of his 18th birthday in 2024 when he can join - is a competitive one, Barcelona being out of the running is a major boost for Chelsea. And they may just feel like it's karma for the summer business that was done.
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