Chelsea join Man City in hunt for Barcelona’s Sergio Busquets

Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets is reportedly a top transfer target for both Manchester City and Chelsea.

Earlier in the week the Premier League champions were linked with a move for the Catalan star, and now Chelsea have been credited with an interest in the 24-year-old.

City boss Roberto Mancini is thought to be keen on a midfield pairing of Busquets and former Barca team-mate Yaya Toure, and will make a move for the aforementioned Spaniard in the summer.

But competition for Busquets’ signature is set to come from the in-form Blues, whose owner Roman Abramovich is plotting a £25m bid in order to replace the often-underwhelming John Obi Mikel.

Barcelona will be under no pressure to sell however, as Busquets is considered a key player at the club he joined in 2005 as a 17-year-old.

And the Sabadell-born enforcer, who grew up just 30 minutes away from the Camp Nou, may take some persuading to leave his hometown club.

Seven years on from joining the famed La Masia academy Busquets won three La Liga titles, two Champions League trophies and the Copa del Rey twice, cementing his position in Barca’s midfield alongside Xavi and Andres Iniesta.

Despite a reputation – predominantly outside of Spain – for theatrics, the Blaugrana anchorman has earned his place in the team on merit.

Busquets fulfils the holding role in a Barcelona side jam packed with creative talent, and his best attributes of slick passing and intelligent positioning  compliment his more illustrious colleagues.

Javier Mascherano and summer acquisition Alex Song are just two defensive midfielders at the club that are finding it hard to tackle Busquets’ stranglehold on the ‘pivot’ spot in the Barcelona midfield this season.

Yaya Toure and most recently Seydou Keita both left the club after finding playing time in their favoured position limited due to the presence of the Spaniard.

Whilst it would appear a monumental task for any club to convince Busquets that his future lies away from Barcelona, if any outfits could put together a deal to do so then Man City and Chelsea are prime candidates.

Rumours have suggested Busquets could come around to the idea of a fresh challenge, having won everything on offer in Spain already in his career.

A potential switch to the Premier League might seem far-fetched now, but with midfield talents at Barca like Thiago Alcantara and Cesc Fabregas pushing for more game time, Tito Vilanova could be tempted to sell.

And if such a situation arose, Man City and Chelsea would be waiting in the wings to offer Busquets a new home in England.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.