Marina Granovskaia has been told that Chelsea target Ronald Araujo, who has been touted as a possible Cesar Azpilicueta replacement, is considered to be 'unsellable' by Barcelona in what could have a domino effect for Thomas Tuchel's side.
The latest on Chelsea's Spanish veteran defender is that according to Fabrizio Romano, Barcelona are set to offer the player a two-year deal with the option of an extra year. However, he also suggested that the player is yet to make a final decision.
Azpilicueta was the man who lifted the Champions League trophy following Thomas Tuchel's arrival, and his manager has only had good things to say about his captain, despite his seemingly imminent departure.
"The plans, most of them are not longer than 10 or 14 days in football and for me as a manager," he said in February.
"But he's super important. He was super important from day one. We had a good connection from the first day, which you always look for as a coach.
"‘He gets better with every game he plays. He's an example of a leader who leads by example, which is always super nice to have.
"Now he collects so many trophies and has had an incredible career at one club, which is outstanding. He embodies everything that Chelsea stands for - being relentless, being humble, but being a warrior at the same time.
"I don't think there are people who don't wish the very best for him and don't like that he has all these trophies. He deserves it."
With the expectation that Chelsea will not offer exactly what their captain wants, an exit is highly possible, while Danish defender Andreas Christensen also appears set to move ion this summer, most likely to Barcelona.
According to Spanish outlet El Desmarque, Christensen has said 'yes' to the prospect of working under Xavi in Catalonia, meaning the prospect of a new deal at Stamford Bridge before the end of the season reduces once again.
Chelsea will now be hoping that Antonio Rudiger is able to stay and sign a new deal, although that too appears less than certain.
The likes of Levi Colwill - among other options already at Stamford bridge - have been touted but externally, Jules Kounde seems to be the main target, with Matthijs de Ligt seemingly ruling out a west London move in the summer with his latest admission.
Another name that has been mentioned in the past is Barcelona's Ronald Araujo but that prospect, just like Gavi, has been ruled out by pundit Steve McManaman who has claimed that the Uruguayan international is regarded as 'unsellable' this summer by Xavi Hernandez and Juan Laporta.
"At the moment Araújo’s still got a lot to learn and improve on," McManaman told horseracing.net.
"However, he probably is unsellable for Barcelona at the moment, just because of their squad. [Samuel] Umtiti signed again but they don’t really fancy him and they want him to leave.
"They’ve wanted him to leave for a long time. Of course they’ve brought Eric García in, who’s very inexperienced but struggling at the moment, with Barcelona struggling.
Who are the teams you love to hate? Which teams do you have a soft spot for? Take part in our League of Love & Hate survey
"Gerard Piqué is getting older. So they probably need to keep Araújo more than anything because they haven’t really got a host of centre defenders. Clement Lenglet’s been around for a while and has struggled at times through this transitional period.
"Barcelona played Valencia, beat them 4-1 and García and Araújo played together, so that might be the future. They need to start building a team instead of just balancing the books."
