Barcelona say no to signing right-back, player now approaches Chelsea to seal transfer: Reports
Real Valladolid right-back Ivan Fresneda has reportedly turned his attention to Chelsea after Barcelona rejected the chance to sign him. The Spanish defender wants to leave Valladolid this summer and was hoping for a move to Camp Nou.
As per a report in Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona have informed Fresneda and Valladolid that they cannot afford his transfer fee this summer. Chelsea showed interest in him earlier this month after captain Reece James suffered a hamstring injury.
The Blues have Malo Gusto playing as James' backup but with the Englishman's recurring injury issues, they have decided to buy another right-back. Fresneda has a €20 million release clause, as per a report in SPORT.
Chelsea signed Gusto earlier this year and loaned him back to Lyon for the rest of the 2022/23 season. He has made a good impact so far and is expected to start for the Blues until the Englishman is back.
Chelsea and Barcelona target has plans set for the future
Ivan Fresned is grateful to Real Valladolid for giving him a chance. However, he has hinted that he is ready to take the next step in his career.
Speaking about his plans for the future, Fresneda told The Athletic that he was not paying attention to the rumors. He said:
"The fans have been very supportive from the moment I made my debut, and they've been asking me to stay. My agent keeps me very much on the sidelines. I don't really like to look at what a journalist might have written, but I've lived everything with a lot of emotion. I'm very grateful to the club, to the previous manager, and I'm trying to handle it as naturally as possible."
He added:
"I'm very young. I have to go step by step, not go backwards. Being the age I am, you have to keep improving, and I'm doing that at Valladolid. Everyone would like to go to the best teams in the world, and that is one of my ambitions, of course.
"When I went to Leganes, after Madrid, which wasn't easy because I had a great time at Valdebebas (Real Madrid's training centre). That's when I took the leap of faith I needed. Already with Julio Baptista, training with the youth team of Valladolid, I told myself that I could give the level, and I proved it."
Real Madrid were also linked with the Barcelona target earlier this summer but they decided to stick with Dani Carvajal.