Jody Morris names Arsenal and Liverpool transfer target as dream Chelsea signing

Former Chelsea star Jody Morris says he would ‘love’ the club to be in a position where they had the pulling power to be able to compete with Arsenal and Liverpool for Bradley Barcola this summer.

Chelsea have set out their stall in the opening weeks of the transfer window under new manager Xabi Alonso, moving away from their purely youth-led transfer policy after a wretched tenth-placed finish last season.

In Danny Welbeck and Jordan Henderson, the Blues have signed two players who boast a combined total of nearly 1,000 appearances between them in the Premier League.

Meanwhile, a £117million move for Morgan Rogers came as a statement of intent to Chelsea’s rivals, with Arsenal initially understood to have been in pole position for the Aston Villa and England midfielder.

Chelsea have also landed Italy right-back Marco Palestra from Atalanta and are expected to announce the arrival of Racing Santander left-back Pep Chavarria – to replace the departed Marc Cucurella – over the coming days.

The west London giants have previously been credited with a strong interest in Barcola, but Liverpool are believed to be leading the chase for the Paris Saint-Germain winger this summer.

Arsenal have also been closely monitoring Barcola’s situation and could be tempted to step up their pursuit of the £145-rated forward given their hopes of capturing top target Vinicius Junior appear to be dwindling.

‘I would have loved to have been in a position where we can go after Barcola,’ ex-Chelsea midfielder Morris told Sky Sports when asked which player he would most like to see brought in at Stamford Bridge.

‘But I said this previously, I was really surprised that we managed to get Morgan Rogers through the door when he’s playing for a team that’s already in the Champions League and reportedly had the champions of England [Arsenal] after him as well.

‘I was really surprised that we managed to get him through the door so I think it would be wishful thinking if we were then able to get another player of that ilk [Barcola] who has just won the Champions League twice.’

Asked if the addition of Barcola would be enough to make Chelsea title challengers, Morris replied: ‘No, I don’t think so.

‘I think we need to start establishing ourselves as a top-four, regular team that is maybe going to be trying to make improvements from where we’ve been previously.

‘The underperforming nature of the group last year was so far away off where we should be.

‘We need to be building a bit of consistency, particularly from how mature our performances are within games. The change from the first half to second half, whether it be good in the first and poor in the second, or vice versa, was so vast in so many games.

‘The consistency levels is the most important thing that we need to start getting up to what Chelsea are expecting.’

Morris is confident both Henderson and Welbeck will prove to be invaluable addition to Alonso’s first-team squad in terms of experience and know-how.

However, the 47-year-old – who served as Frank Lampard’s assistant at Stamford Bridge – is unsure just how much the influence the duo will be able to have given they are unlikely to be regular starters.

‘I do think adding your Jordan Hendersons and your Danny Welbecks is great for the group as a whole,’ he explained.

‘I really like Jordan Henderson and I really like Danny Welbeck, but I wouldn’t have minded a little bit more experience in the starting XI.

‘I’m not too sure that those two players will be starting week in, week out, and I think that can dilute the influence you can have on the group a bit.

‘They’ll still be amazing to have around the place, particularly Jordan Henderson. He’s someone who can have a huge influence on not just the younger players but the club as a whole.

‘We’re certainly not worse off than what we were without those players, but sometimes adding that experience in maybe your guaranteed six, seven, eight starters in the team is a little bit more important.’

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