Romano rubbishes links between Barcelona and Chelsea defender

Barcelona are not interested in signing Chelsea defender Reece James in summer window

Reece James had previously been linked to a move to Barcelona during the summer transfer window, but that is not a possibility as transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano claims that James is “untouchable”.

Furthermore, he asserts that the latest allegations linking him to Barcelona are untrue at this time. The Spanish team’s financial situation prevents them from paying for James next season.

The Catalan giants are struggling financially which has had them looking for free transfers in recent years. Barcelona haven’t been able to replace Dani Alves since he left.

The likes of Sergino Dest and Junior Firipo failed to establish themselves, and currently, the Catalans are using Jules Kounde as their right-back.

James is having a sloppy season, although he has only made 16 Premier League appearances and missed most of the games due to injury. In September, the 23-year-old inked a new deal that would keep him with the team through 2028.

James is someone Chelsea are interested in assembling their team around as they pursue their ambition to construct the best young team in the world, although the Blues are expected to sell a number of first-team players to trim down their unwieldy squad.

James, who has a contract with the club through 2028, should never be sold by Chelsea, and it would be a terrible mistake for the club to even consider offloading one of Europe’s top right-backs. Barcelona could struggle financially to onboard a player of his ilk as well – although the attraction of playing for them has seen players give up financial benefits to wear their colours.

Barcelona, on the other hand, lack a perfect right-back, therefore Kounde and occasionally Sergio Roberton have filled that position. They will undoubtedly search for one in the transfer window, but James will be out of their grasp.

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It makes for a good read that Barcelona are interested in the England international. But it would be a huge, huge surprise if he is ever allowed to Chelsea when he is still in his prime years. Romano’s claims make sense and this is a story we need not worry about.