Carney Chukwuemeka to Barcelona? Romano reveals the state of play

Cameron Smith

11 Aug 2024 15:45 BST
3 min read

Carney Chukwuemeka, Barcelona, Chelsea — © IMAGO

Carney Chukwuemeka is currently unlikely to join Barcelona, despite recent links with the Spanish giants.

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Chukwuemeka, 20, joined Chelsea from Aston Villa back in 2022, but he has endured an injury-hit start to life at Stamford Bridge.

Despite the imminent departure of Conor Gallagher, Chukwuemeka is set to play a bit-part role under Enzo Maresca.

Enzo Fernandez, Romeo Lavia, Moises Caicedo, Cole Palmer, Christopher Nkunku, Lesley Ugochukwu and new signing Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall all appear to be ahead of him in the pecking order, which has sparked links of a summer exit.

According to Spanish outlet Sport, Barcelona are interested in signing Chukwuemeka amid his struggles at Chelsea, despite their recent acquisition of RB Leipzig’s Dani Olmo.

However, Fabrizio Romano has played down links with the Blaugrana.

The transfer expert told CaughtOffside: “There has been speculation about other potential Chelsea exits as well, with Carney Chukwuemeka linked with Barcelona.

“Still, my understanding is that there is nothing concrete so far. Chelsea have not received any bid for Chukwuemeka and the situation is currently quiet. Then in the next [few] days we will see… but at the moment there has been no offer made to Chelsea from Barca.”

Chukwuemeka has made just 27 first-team appearances for Chelsea, and his Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) has fallen to just €4.4 million due to his lack of game time over the past 12 months.

Chelsea’s imminent summer sales

While Chukwuemeka is unlikely to leave Chelsea for Barcelona, a number of current Blues stars are set to depart before the 2024 summer transfer window ends.

Conor Gallagher is on the verge of joining Atletico Madrid, Napoli want to sign Romelu Lukaku, Chelsea are desperate to sell Kepa Arrizabalaga and Trevoh Chalobah has been banned from using first-team facilities as the club look to offload him.

In addition, Armando Broja, David Datro Fofana, Djordje Petrovic and Cesare Casadei could also leave on permanent deals.