A second Chelsea star has been tipped to join Barcelona after Joao Pedro reportedly opened the door to a move to the Nou Camp.
Barca have expressed interest in signing Pedro as they look for Robert Lewandowski’s replacement.
Lewandowski, 37, has enjoyed four successful and prolific seasons at the Spanish giants, winning three La Liga titles and scoring over 100 goals.
Barcelona have also been linked with Arsenal target Julian Alvarez but whether they can strike a deal with La Liga rival Atletico Madrid remains to be seen.
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Nou Camp bosses have been impressed by Pedro’s promising first season at Chelsea which has produced 23 goals in all competitions.
According to reports in Spain, Pedro would ‘welcome the opportunity’ to move to Barcelona and is keen to have another season playing in the Champions League, a competition Chelsea will be absent from.
Former Spain midfielder Gaizka Mendieta believes Pedro would be a ‘great fit’ for Barcelona and says he could see fellow Chelsea star Cole Palmer also moving to the Nou Camp.
England star Palmer has been heavily linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge in recent months and is said to be unsettled in west London.
‘I think Joao Pedro would be a great fit at Barcelona,’ Mendieta told PlayUK. ‘The way Barca have been signing players has been very clever, credit to Deco.
‘And I think Pedro would be a good fit for Barca in the sense that he’s very young and despite the injuries, he had a good overall season. So it could be one of the choices that Deco might be looking into.
‘Obviously, there are players in the team that we think, if finances fit, will prefer to play in clubs where they play in the Champions League that they are not currently.
‘All the players at Chelsea at the moment would prefer that, as they are not playing Champions League.
‘Cole Palmer is on the list as well for Barca and for many clubs. All these players are exciting and I’ll be very happy to see Palmer in La Liga, obviously, and especially at Barca for sure.
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‘Which English players could I see at Barcelona one day? Palmer, Phil Foden or Anthony Gordon.
‘Foden isn’t playing much but I think he could fit into the Barca style right now.
‘Once players of a certain nationality, in this case English, go to another country like Spain, and things work well for them, I think that encourages other players to make those decisions.
‘After Bellingham, Rashford and Trent, maybe more English players will come to La Liga.’
Chelsea’s disappointing season suffered another blow on Saturday as the Blues were beaten 1-0 by Manchester City in the FA Cup final.
In better news for Chelsea, they confirmed Liverpool legend and former Real Madrid boss Xabi Alonso as their new manager on Sunday.
Alonso emerged as Chelsea’s top target following Liam Rosenior’s sacking last month and will take over in July.
Interim boss Calum McFarlane will take charge of Chelsea’s final two games of the season, a London derby against Tottenham and a trip to Sunderland.
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