Sources: Chelsea rival Arsenal for €35m “smart investment” as club ready to sell

Chelsea are rivalling Arsenal for the potential transfer of Barcelona defensive midfielder Marc Casado ahead of this January.

As first reported here for the Daily Briefing (subscribe for the full article), the Blues are being credited with a strong interest in the 22-year-old, who they see as a “smart investment”.

Other clubs, including Arsenal and others in the Premier League, are also admirers of Casado, who could be available.

Sources have indicated that Barca could let Casado go for offers in the region of €30-35m, and the current feeling is that Chelsea will try their luck to get that deal done this winter.

Chelsea have a long-standing interest in Marc Casado

Chelsea made a bid to Barcelona for Fermin Lopez in the summer and it seems Casado was also discussed at that time.

The west London giants had an offer turned down for Lopez, but it seems Barcelona would be open to letting Casado go for the right price.

The Catalan giants have financial problems and need to ensure they balance the books to stay on the right side of Financial Fair Play laws.

Casado could be allowed to make way and that looks like an exciting opportunity for Chelsea.

What could Casado bring to Chelsea or Arsenal?

Casado might not have established himself as first choice at Barcelona, but he could add important depth behind Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez at Stamford Bridge.

Enzo Maresca currently only really has Romeo Lavia as an alternative to those two, and he’s been very injury prone during his time with Chelsea.

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Arsenal, meanwhile, might want a long-term replacement for Christian Norgaard before too long.

Norgaard joined from Brentford this summer but doesn’t look like someone who’s likely to be a particularly long-term option due to his age, while he’s also not had many opportunities from Mikel Arteta so far.