Chelsea wanted to sign Barcelona breakthrough star in January, will continue monitoring him | OneFootball

The January transfer window saw Barcelona lose one of their most talented player from the academy.

Indeed, Unai Hernandez made headlines for joining Al Ittihad at an early stage of his career. Meanwhile, Pau Prim was closely linked with a move to Xavi’s former club Al Sadd, although the transfer did not go through.

Now, a recent report from Mundo Deportivo has indicated that Barcelona had received offers for yet another midfield prodigy during the winter transfer window.

Chelsea’s offer for Casado

As per the report, the player in question was none other than Barcelona’s breakthrough star this season, Marc Casado.

It appears the midfield prodigy was courted by Premier League giants Chelsea in January. The Blues had even asked Barcelona about the player’s availability.

Casado was on the radar of Chelsea during the January transfer window (Photo by Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images)

However, Casado did not entertain the interest of Chelsea as the young midfielder was clear about his desire to continue at Barcelona, the club of his life.

That said, the report does claim that Chelsea, as well as other top Premier League clubs, will continue to monitor Casado’s progression at Barcelona.

It must be noted that the midfielder has a relatively lower release clause of just €100 million, which is quite lower than the termination clauses of other young players at Barça, including Pau Cubarsi’s €500 million.

The report, though, also clarifies that Casado is committed to the Barcelona project and his status in the team has not changed despite the fact that Frenkie de Jong has taken part in Hansi Flick’s XI more prominently in recent weeks.

The numbers speak for themselves, as Casado has taken part in 30 matches in all competition for Barcelona this season, featuring in a total of more than 2,100 minutes.