Chelsea and Liverpool face off for Alex Balde
According to Spanish publication Sport (h/t The Express), Chelsea and Liverpool are keeping tabs on Barcelona youngster Alex Balde.
The 17-year-old has impressed in the Catalan side’s youth ranks and has featured multiple times in the UEFA Youth League.
Seen as a player for the future, Balde is compared to another young sensation Ansu Fati. Barcelona believe he can follow in Fati’s wake and make it to the first-team.
A left-back, Balde is seen as a replacement for Junior Firpo. The latter is expected to leave the club and it remains to be seen if the club will show faith in the 17-year-old.
The youngster’s potential has seen a number of clubs sit up and take notice of his talents. Barca promoted him to their B team during the summer in the hopes of keeping him happy in Catalunya.
With Ronald Koeman now in charge, it appears that the player is set to be fast-tracked into the first-team.
If that happens, it is believed that Chelsea will have a tougher time trying to prise him away from the Nou Camp.
Balde on his part is said to be happy at the club, and has no intention of trying to force through a move. All this just makes our hopes of signing him harder.
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If Chelsea were to sign Balde, it won’t be the first time in recent memory that a Barcelona starlet has moved to the Bridge.
Dutch youngster Xavier Mbuamba swapped the Catalan skies for London earlier this summer. Whether Balde follows in his steps remains to be seen.