All the attention today is on Chelsea’s massive Champions League clash against Barcelona, but behind the scenes there are a lot of other things going on.
The Blues are getting warmed up for January’s transfer window, and while we don’t expect any major additions, there’s always space for a bit of a shuffle.
Chelsea wait for a signal from midfield metronome
Pablo Barrios in action for Atletico Madrid
Pablo Barrios in action for Atletico Madrid (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)
The story mentioned by Mark Brus in the Daily Briefing is a little more than just that, however. He’s talking about Atletico Madrid midfielder Pablo Barrios, who has been linked with us fairly often in the last couple of years.
“Chelsea really like Barrios, he’s someone they could be prepared to move for if there’s any indication he’d be available and interested in a move,” his source said.
That’s promising, but that’s also the problem. We’re not sure there will be any indication that he’s available and interested in a move. He would be an ideal Romeo Lavia replacement, but it seems unlikely that we are able to shift the Belgian even for a modest price.
The piece tells us to “expect a big midfielder move by Chelsea in 2026, with one new name in particular coming up with sources in the industry,” but for us, this Barrios interest sounds like it’s going to stay on the shelf for now.
In Champions League news…
We’ve predicted our team that we think Enzo Maresca will pick tonight, and we think some fans could be disappointed by his faith in one striker.
Whoever plays tonight, they’re going to have their work cut out keeping a clean sheet. This Barcelona team are as free scoring a team as we can remember, and they’re going to put our defenders to the test tonight.
More Stories about Pablo Barrios
Chelsea team celebrate in a group huddle after Conference League game.
A fairly generic photo of Enzo Maresca with a corner flag.
Enzo Maresca and Pep Guardiola meet again