Chelsea and Barcelona are reportedly among the teams keen on signing Villarreal defender Alfonso Pedraza. The 25-year-old left-back has a gamut of big-name admirers vying for his signature this summer transfer window.
The Spanish defender has been with the Yellow Submarine since joining their youth team in 2011 when he was 15-year-old. However, it was not until 2020/21 that Pedraza finally managed to establish himself as a regular in the first-team setup at Villarreal.
The campaign proved to be quite memorable for Alfonso, as he featured in 44 games across all tournaments, chipping in with two goals and four assists.
The Spanish left-back was also a part of the Yellow Submarine that won the UEFA Europa League trophy last season, which helped the club secure a place in the UEFA Champions League for the upcoming season.
Suffice to say, his progress has not gone unnoticed, with the Blaugrana and Blues among his suitors heading into the transfer window. The Catalan club continue to be in a transitional state despite completing a campaign under the tutelage of Ronald Koeman.
With Joan Laporta now Barcelona president, a major financial clean-up is underway at the Catalan club, which pertains to the first-team squad as well, with the team size and wage bill being addressed.
To that end, Junior Firpo has already departed the Blaugrana, with Jordi Alba, who is on the wrong side of 30 anyway, also facing an unknown future at Camp Nou. As a result, La Liga giants are in the market for a defender, with Jose Gaya, Mario Hermoso, and Angelino linked with them.
The London club, on the other hand, have a more clear-cut reason to invest in Alfonso. As things stand, the German coach has three left-backs at his disposal in Chilwell, Alonso and Emerson.
However, Ben is the only footballer whose future is secure at Chelsea, with both Palmieri and Alonso being linked with summer departures from Stamford Bridge. Thus, the 25-year-old defender has emerged as a main target for the Blues.
The Spaniard will not be a costly investment either, with the Yellow Submarine demanding €15m in exchange for his services.
However, Chelsea and Barcelona are not the only suitors lining up for the signature of Alfonso as Milan, Roma and Bayer Leverkusen are also courting. What now stays to be seen is which of the interested sides make the first move to sign the left-back.
