Barcelona 'Very Close' To Completing Next Signing After Ferran Torres

Barcelona could be on the verge of adding another English Premier League star in their squad.

Ahead of the January transfer window, Barcelona has secured the transfer of Manchester City’s Ferran Torres via a reported fee of €55 million ($62 million) plus €10 million ($11.3 million) in variables, the club announced.

Torres signed a five-year deal with the Catalans and is expected to make his debut soon.

Aside from Torres, Barca is said to be also continuously tracking Chelsea’s Cesar Azpilicueta.

The club’s pursuit of Azpilicueta has finally progressed as an agreement in principle to sign the veteran defender has already been reached.

Azpilicueta is “very close” to completing his move to Barcelona on a free transfer at the end of the season, Spanish journalist Gerard Romero reported.

International Business Times could not independently verify this information.

Romero added that Azpilicueta and Barcelona are edging closer to sealing the transfer deal with “only a few personal issues can change the course of the operation.”

Azpilicueta’s current deal with the Blues but is set to expire at the end of the season and will be allowed to negotiate with other clubs starting January 1, 2022.

Barcelona is reportedly ready to pounce but prior to the news, previous reports claimed that Azpilicueta is not keen on leaving Stamford Bridge and is willing to fight for his place at Chelsea.

While nothing is official yet, earlier statements from reputable journalist Eduardo Inda and Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel suggest that the 32-year-old is not going anywhere.

"Chelsea has a unilateral renewal clause for a year that it will exercise,” Inda said. “If Chelsea decides to renew him, he has to stay and there is no possibility of him coming to Barca."

“I don’t see any problem here,” Tuchel told Chelsea’s official website. “The situation between Azpi [Azpilicueta], me and the club is very clear. He is our captain. He has all possibilities to stay here as long as possible and become the legend he already is.”

“He is a fantastic captain and a fantastic player,” the manager pointed out.

Azpilicueta has been featured in 19 matches for the Blues this season, completing three assists in the process.

He is best known for captaining the Chelsea squad that won the 2021 UEFA Champions League title.

Since then, a number of clubs across Europe has began to be linked to his name.