Chelsea chief Marina Granovskaia could sanction two deals against Thomas Tuchel’s wishes

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Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia could allow both Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso to leave the club in January even if Thomas Tuchel wants to keep the duo, reports say. The Spanish pair have not always been regulars under Tuchel so far this season. And they are seemingly keen on earning more game time elsewhere.

Azpilicueta is out of contract at Stamford Bridge at the end of the season.

Therefore foreign clubs can speak to the player next month with the intention of joining for free next summer.

Alonso, meanwhile, has 18 months remaining on his deal but was second choice behind Ben Chilwell for much of this season before the England star’s knee injury.

Speaking on the Transfer Window podcast, Ian McGarry claimed both players have asked their representatives to find them a move elsewhere.

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McGarry’s co-host Duncan Castles went one step further by claiming Barcelona are interested in the Chelsea pair.

Castles said: “You have a factor here that Barcelona are making it clear that they’re interested in both of those players but they want to do deals on the cheap.

“Azpilicueta is obviously attractive to them because he will be out of contract at the end of the season.

“Alonso at 30 has a contract until 2023 so again getting to that stage in the summer where cheaper deals can be done.

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“And you have the factor of wanting to play at the World Cup.”

Castles claims Tuchel wants to keep both players, at least until the end of the season.

However, he says transfer chief Granovskaia could break the mould and sell Azpilicueta and Alonso despite Chelsea’s intention to compete for all major honours this season.

“I don’t think Tuchel would like, in an ideal world, to lose either of these players,” Castles added.

“But, if Marina Granovskaia is thinking that there is some kind of financial deal to be done that allows her to reinvest in other areas of the team, and you have this pressure from clubs who want to sign the players and might be able to offer them a better guarantee of playing time, and if it’s a club like Barcelona going to one of the elite clubs in Spanish football, even if they’re in a terrible state of repair at the moment, then it becomes a more complex scenario.

“Whether Tuchel puts them back into the team and they become central parts.

“Normally in circumstances like this, where Chelsea are competing for the Premier League, competing for the Champions League, you would think that the club would say ‘no chance that you leave during the season’ and start contract negotiations over extensions.

“But it seems that Granovskaia is open to discussing options, which is probably a mark of her confidence in her abilities in the transfer market.”

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