Chelsea ready to hijack another Barcelona target as they target 31-year-old defender

Barcelona’s transfer plans seem to be falling apart as they have been dealt multiple blows over the past week.

The Blaugrana saw Angel Di Maria decide to choose Juventus over them, while fresh talks with Ousmane Dembele’s agent did not lead anywhere. On Tuesday night, Barça learned that Chelsea were set to beat them to the capture of Leeds United superstar Raphinha.

Now, Fabrizio Romano reports that Chelsea have their sights set on another Barcelona target in the form of Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly.

The Blues are already rivalling the Blaugrana for the signing of Jules Kounde from Sevilla. However, the update from Romano claims that Thomas Tuchel’s side want to bring in two top defenders this summer.

And Koulibaly has been identified as a target, along with several other players such as Matthijs de Ligt and Nathan Ake.

The 31-year-old Koulibaly is entering the final year of his contract with Napoli and talks over an extension have not taken off as expected.

Barcelona have had their eyes on the Senegalese international for a while now, although Kounde remains their top priority.

But a deal for the Frenchman is proving difficult to finalise, with Sevilla not budging on their demands. So, a player like Koulibaly, who is vastly experienced and would not cost a bomb, would be a smart signing for Xavi Hernandez’s side.

However, with Chelsea now entering the fray, things could get complicated for the Blaugrana.

Barcelona are focusing their efforts on landing Robert Lewandowski from Bayern Munich, but they need to step up their pursuit of other targets as well, or risk missing out on them as well, like it is happening with Raphinha.