Barcelona director Deco has flown over to England ahead of talks to ramp up a brutal raid on Chelsea, and he may even be in attendance at tomorrow\u2019s FA Cup final.<\/p>\n
Barcelona<\/strong><\/a> are in the market for a new focal point in their attack, with legendary striker, Robert Lewandowski, poised to depart via free agency.<\/p>\n Barca\u2019s No 1 target for much of 2026 was Julian Alvarez of Atletico Madrid. The Argentine is receptive to advances from Barcelona, but this current version of Barcelona barely have two cents to rub together.<\/p>\n The LaLiga giant are already struggling to pay \u20ac30m for Marcus Rashford<\/strong><\/a> and cannot even begin to hope to afford what it\u2019ll take to sign Alvarez without cajoling Atleti into accepting a mind-boggling deal structure and payment terms.<\/p>\n As such, cheaper options are on the agenda and over the past 24 hours, Mundo Deportivo confirmed Barcelona have pivoted to Chelsea\u2019s Joao Pedro<\/strong><\/a> who is now their priority target<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n And according to the latest from Spanish outlet SPORT<\/a>, Barca director Deco has jetted over to London to discuss a transfer with Pedro\u2019s representatives.<\/p>\n Deco to negotiate Joao Pedro transfer<\/strong><\/p>\n The report claimed Deco might even be at Wembley for Chelsea\u2019s FA Cup final clash with Man City on Saturday, while a face-to-face meeting between the director and Pedro isn\u2019t out of the question either.<\/p>\n SPORT declared: \u2018Deco has traveled to London to meet with the footballer\u2019s agents in the coming days.<\/p>\n \u2018Furthermore, the sporting director may take advantage of his time in the British capital to attend the FA Cup final between Chelsea FC<\/strong><\/a> and Manchester City this Saturday at Wembley Stadium, a match in which Jo\u00e3o Pedro will be one of the key attacking attractions.<\/p>\n \u2018The trip has been handled with great secrecy within the club. At Bar\u00e7a, they want to proceed with ample time and foresight, aware that the economic situation necessitates a calm and meticulous approach to all scenarios.<\/p>\n \u2018A face-to-face meeting with the player himself is even a possibility during this period.\u2019<\/p>\n MORE CHELSEA COVERAGE ON F365\u2026<\/strong> The report reaffirmed Pedro is now the \u2018clear favourite\u2019 to become Barca\u2019s new starting striker after La Blaugrana determined the cost of signing Alvarez is too high.<\/p>\n The obvious questions to ask at this point in the story is are Chelsea willing to sell, and for how much?<\/p>\n Chelsea hold all the cards<\/strong><\/p>\n Firstly, Blues fans should not begin to fret too much, with transfer guru, Fabrizio Romano, stressing last week that Chelsea have no intention of selling Pedro<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n The Brazilian has arguably been Chelsea\u2019s player of the season after plundering 20 goals and providing nine assists.<\/p>\n What\u2019s more, Chelsea are in an exceedingly strong bargaining position given Pedro is contracted until 2033. There is no release clause in his contract either.<\/p>\n As such, Chelsea can practically set any price tag they want, and even if Barca somehow meet it, they\u2019re under no obligation to sell anyway.<\/p>\n Perhaps the only hope Barca have is unsettling the player by having their director fly over to London to negotiate personal terms, perhaps?<\/p>\n English clubs, even the most powerful ones, are no stranger to seeing their finest South American stars have their heads turned when Barcelona or Real Madrid come calling.<\/p>\n But in this instance, Chelsea should have nothing to fear from Barcelona if they simply hold their nerve and refuse to negotiate.<\/p>\n
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