Former Chelsea coach Jody Morris says he would “love” to see the club in a position to compete with Arsenal and Liverpool for Paris Saint-Germain winger Bradley Barcola this summer.
Barcola has emerged as one of the most sought-after attacking players in the transfer market, with Arsenal and Liverpool among the Premier League clubs reportedly exploring a move for the France international.
The 23-year-old has two years remaining on his PSG contract and could be allowed to leave if the French champions receive an offer that meets their valuation. Sky Sports has reported that PSG would be prepared to consider a sale should Barcola remain unhappy and a suitable bid arrive.
LIVERPOOL have been strongly linked with Barcola as they look to strengthen their attack, while ARSENAL have maintained an interest after missing out on other targets. Reports have suggested the winger could command a fee in excess of £100 million, with PSG understood to be seeking a substantial figure for one of their key attacking players
‘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 CHELSEA.
‘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.
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