Barcelona eyeing Man Utd raid on top of signing Chelsea duo but may have to pay £30m

Barcelona are reportedly looking to sign Manchester United defender Eric Bailly in the summer transfer window as the club continues its strategy of targeting Premier League misfits. Barca are strapped for cash at the moment and Bailly has emerged as the latest name on their shopping list for the summer.

The Spanish giants have debts totaling over £1billion, but are also keen to undertake a complete rebuild of their squad under Xavi.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Ferran Torres were signed from Arsenal and Manchester City respectively in January and Barca will not stop there.

Like many clubs, they are looking for opportunities to land players on free transfers, with a whole host of players currently running down their contracts.

Chelsea defenders Andreas Christensen and Cesar Azpilicueta have both been strongly linked with Barca over the past few months, but their interest in Premier League defenders runs deeper than that.

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The report states Bailly could be available for around £30m – the same amount United paid Villarreal in 2017.

Bailly has only played seven times in all competitions for United so far this season, with his last game coming before the Africa Cup of Nations on December 30.

Barcelona are desperate to strengthen their defensive options this summer and are also targeting Chelsea’s wantaway centre-backs.

Christensen’s talks with the Blues over an extension have reportedly completely broken down, meaning he looks near certain to leave the club on a free transfer come July 1.

The Danish international has also been linked with Bayern Munich, while other Premier League clubs are sure to pay attention too.

Azpilicueta, meanwhile, has refused to be drawn on his future, but it seems his 10-year stay with the club is drawing to a close after he completed his full set of trophies with the Club World Cup earlier this month.

“I will not talk about my future,” he said recently.

“Of course, I arrived in the summer of 2012 and I had no children. My children were born in London and you know how I feel about Chelsea, but I won’t comment on my future.”