Barcelona to beat Chelsea to another defender?

Chelsea are set to face stiff competition from Barcelona in the race to sign RB Leipzig defender Josko Gvardiol next summer.

The Blues opened talks with the Bundesliga outfit for the Croatian last summer. They wanted to negotiate a pre-agreement for next season.

However, a deal never materialised between the clubs and the centre-back ended signing a new long-term contract with Leipzig.

The Blues remain interested in landing Gvardiol, but Bild claim that they are now set to face a fierce battle with the Blaugrana.

The Catalan giants hijacked the Blues' bid for Jules Kounde earlier this year and they are planning to do the same with Gvardiol.

Gerard Pique recently retired from the game and this has provided the Blaugrana with a huge financial boost going forward.

They will save wages of around £48m over the next two seasons and the club are set to use the funds to land Gvardiol next summer.

Chelsea are currently lying eighth in the Premier League. With such kind of form, they face a huge task of luring Gvardiol next year.