Chelsea defender to join Barcelona this week

Chelsea defender Marcos Alonso is expected to make his long-awaited move to Barcelona this week, according to Spanish outlet Sport.

The Spain international was touted to join the Catalans at the beginning of the summer, but the move was delayed due to different reasons.

The Blaugrana were reluctant to meet the €10 million price tag while the Blues wanted to find a suitable replacement in the transfer market.

Both issues have now been sorted. The Blues recently signed Marc Cucurella from Brighton & Hove Albion, who will be Alonso's successor.

Meanwhile, the Blaugrana have managed to convince the Blues to lower their initial valuation for the Spaniard, who has already agreed terms.

Alonso was spotted in Barcelona earlier on Monday, and reports claim that a formal agreement could be finalised before the end of the week.

The Blaugrana plan to activate a fourth economic lever this week, and this could allow them to register their new signings including Alonso.