By Betsefy
Barcelona are reportedly hoping to pull off a double swoop for Chelsea pair Jorginho and N’Golo Kante on free transfers next summer.
The long-term futures of both midfielders are currently up in the air, as they are due to become free agents when their contracts expire at the end of the current campaign.
Jorginho has long-been linked with a switch to Barcelona, who poached Andreas Christensen from Stamford Bridge when the Danish defender ran down his contract last year, as well as negotiating a deal for Marcos Alonso.
Meanwhile, Kante has struggled to stay fit over the past couple of years and was briefly linked with a summer move to Arsenal, although such rumours did not materialise into anything concrete.
The ex-Leicester City man has also been tipped to return to France with Paris Saint-Germain, but according to the Evening Standard, Barcelona also hold an interest.
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Both Kante and Jorginho are free to begin discussions with foreign clubs from January if they fail to pen new Chelsea deals in the coming months, but the Blues are said to want to tie both men down for longer.
However, any renewal for Kante will likely be on a short-term basis, and Chelsea are also not prepared to keep paying him £290,000 per week given his injury woes in recent years.
Talks over a new deal between Chelsea and Kante are believed to have stalled over the length of the fresh terms, with the Frenchman holding out for a longer deal than what is currently on the table.
While Kante would supposedly be willing to extend his Chelsea stay under the right conditions, the report adds that the midfielder has not closed the door on a move to Barcelona or Real Madrid in the future.
The 31-year-old has only made two appearances in all competitions this season due to a hamstring injury, taking his total for Chelsea to 13 goals and 15 assists from 262 outings in all tournaments.
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Kante has now suffered a fresh setback in his recovery from that hamstring problem, and he will be one of three absences from the squad for Tuesday’s Champions League clash with AC Milan alongside Hakim Ziyech and Wesley Fofana.
Meanwhile, Jorginho already has 11 club appearances under his belt in the 2022-23 season, starting seven Premier League games and scoring once against Everton on the opening weekend.
As is the case with Kante, Jorginho is thought to be open to signing a new deal at Chelsea, but Serie A clubs are also expected to try to tempt the former Napoli man back to Italy.
The Italy international – whose agent has reportedly been spotted in Barcelona – has amassed 27 goals and nine assists for Chelsea since 2018 and will make his 200th appearance for the club if he features against Milan on Tuesday night.
Barcelona are currently working with Gavi, Pedri, Franck Kessie, Frenkie de Jong and Sergio Busquets as their recognised midfield options, but the latter’s deal expires at the end of the season and he is expected to seek pastures new.
