Barcelona
Barcelona

Amidst their recent drama surrounding the Negreira case, where matters escalated to Barcelona and Real Madrid levelling several allegations against each other of endorsing fascism in the past, it seems the two teams are set to rival each other on every territory. Barcelona are reportedly keeping tabs on Real Madrid target Reece James and are ready to strike a deal if possible, according to Spanish journalist Gerard Romero (via BarcaUniversal).

The Catalan club is looking to bolster their team and sees the Chelsea full-back as the ideal match. Xavi is currently having to make do by juggling between centre-backs Jules Kounde and Ronald Araujo as makeshift right-backs, and hence has asked the club to buy him a new, natural right-back in the summer. And Barcelona deem James as the perfect candidate.

Barcelona
La Liga leaders Barcelona have joined the race to sign Reece James as Chelsea need a clearance sale in the summer to balance their financial books. Credits: Twitter

Barcelona and Real Madrid looking to take advantage of Chelsea’s FFP dilemma

Both Barcelona and Real Madrid are exploring a deal for Reece James this summer, hoping to capitalise on Chelsea’s need to sell in the summer to avoid FFP sanctions. The Blues have spent over £500m since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital tookover the club last year. The new ownership has brought over a dozen players at Stamford Bridge, with reports even claiming that its getting difficult to accommodate the bloated squad in the dressing room.

As a result, the west London club is aware that selling multiple academy graduates this summer is the simplest and quickest way to balance their finances. Chelsea must now balance the books in order to comply with Financial Fair Play (FFP) standards after becoming the first club to accrue pre-tax losses in excess of £1 billion since the Premier League’s inception.

As Marca has pointed out, Real Madrid are aware of the situation and will likely boost up their efforts to sign James this summer. They are known to have admired the England international since the two sides clashed in the Champions League quarterfinals in 2020/21. However, Barcelona too have jumped in the line, despite their own FFP woes. Gerard Romero said on Twitch:

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Barcelona are ready to rival Real’s approach for James in the summer as they look to reinforce their right flank. Credits: Twitter

“Keep an eye on Reece James. There are people at Barcelona who get instant emotions.”

However, Barcelona and Real Madrid will struggle to entice James away from Chelsea, where he has just signed a new contract. The Englishman signed a long term, six-year contract extension with the Blues earlier this season, keeping him at the club until 2028. The full-back had even stated that he was “over the moon” after penning a new deal at his boyhood club

Nonetheless, Real Madrid are willing to pay £44 million for James since they need to improve at right-back. Dani Carvajal has been injured in recent years, while Lucas Vazquez and Nacho Fernandez have both been deployed to cover due to a club lack in the area. While their evaluation is quite lower than the England international’s market value of £61m, Chelsea are anyhow not ready to entertain any offers for their academy graduate.