Euro fever may well be sweeping the continent but clubs up and down Europe won’t be letting the trifling matter of tournament football get in the way of their summer trolley dash.
In a tournament year it is always considered a necessity to get your business done before the big games kick off, so credit to Barcelona for being well on course to losing one of their most important players, right-back Dani Alves, at the very start of the summer.
Barca had had their eyes on Arsenal’s Hector Bellerin but perhaps the youngster had a word with Alexandar Hleb, Alex Song, Marc Overmars, Emmanuel Petit and/or Thomas Vermaelen to see how they found the switch from north London to the Nou Camp.
As such it may be another Spain international who Barcelona end up targeting, with the Telegraph reporting that Chelsea’s Cesar Azpilicueta is now on the list of targets for the vacant defensive berth at the Nou Camp.
Arsenal players who moved to Barcelona
Will he end up going back to Spain for the lure of Champions League football next season, or stay firmly ensconced in the Premier League? We’ll probably have an answer for you in the next 82 days, when the transfer window slams shut.
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