Two Chelsea targets, who favour moves to Barcelona instead

This summer, moves for a variety of players have been linked to Chelsea, but nothing has been finalized as of yet.

Two players that are wanted by Chelsea but would prefer to join Barcelona were recently identified by Joan Laporta, the president of the Spanish club.

Laporta said Chelsea’s target, Raphinha, was to join the Catalans instead of the London side.

He added that they are ready to beat Chelsea to the Brazilian’s signature and complete a move for him.

The second player is Sevilla defender Jules Kounde, who was on Chelsea’s radar last summer before Sevilla raised their asking price to €80 million (£68.5m).

Kounde has remained the Blues target despite manager Thomas Tuchel’s side also prioritising a move for Matthijs de Ligt from Juventus.

While Barca want Kounde at Camp Nou next season, their financial issues have been holding them back.

Laporta also suggested that despite accepting Chelsea's £55 million offer for Raphinha, Leeds United is still waiting for Barcelona to increase their offer.

Laporta advised COPE to speak with Mateu [Alemany, Barca's director of football] about a potential trade for Kounde when asked about it. Numerous projects are in the works.

"We anticipate pulling the second lever the following week.

We spoke with Leeds, and I don't believe they will take offense. We have spoken personally and have communicated," Laporta added.

"What occurs is that other clubs are putting out their offers because they want Raphinha. He desires to attend.