Thomas Tuchel admitted that Marcos Alonso has expressed a desire to pursue a move to Barcelona following the 1-0 win against Everton. The Chelsea wing-back was not included in the squad for the visit to Goodison Park amid talk regarding his future.
The Spaniard has long been linked with a summer switch to the Camp Nou side and it now seems imminent that he will be added to Xavi's squad.
Speculation regarding Alonso's future reached a climax when he was left out of the Chelsea squad on Saturday afternoon for their season opener on Merseyside.
What did Tuchel say about Alonso?
Unsurprisingly, Tuchel fielded a question about the 31-year-old after the match.
The Blues boss responded: “Yes, Marcos asked to leave and we agreed to this. It would make no sense to put him on the pitch today."
Plenty of reports have stated that Alonso is closing in on an agreement with Barcelona which would bring an end to his six-year stay in London. Although, the Spanish side are still struggling to register a few of their new arrivals so the move might not be easy to complete.
What else did Tuchel say about Chelsea's summer business?
The desire to bring more new recruits to Stamford Bridge has been widely covered in the last couple of months.
Chelsea continue to test Leicester City's resolve concerning centre-back Wesley Fofana while strikers such as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang have been linked to fill the void left by Romelu Lukaku.
Speaking after the match, Tuchel told Sky Sports: “If we can add, we will add. Not necessarily midfielders as a first option but we are open for everything.
"I think we could use new energy, new legs and fresh input to bring us to a new level. If not, then we will push this team but I think we could use some more input and some more quality.”
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