BARCELONA LOSES A COLOSSAL £96M CHELSEA TRANSFER HINTS FOR FRENKIE DE JONG AND PIERRE-EMERICK AUBAMEYANG

Thomas Tuchel has set his sights on the pair as Chelsea looks to add at least two more players after bringing in Wesley Fofana.

As Todd Boehly issued a four-day warning, Barcelona made a telling Pierre Emerick Aubameyang and Frenkie de Jong Chelsea transfer suggestion.

The Blues recently defeated Leicester City at home 2-1 in the Premier League to avenge their Premier League loss to Leeds United. For the eleven men who were required to make up for Conor Gallagher's absence, Raheem Sterling and Reece James stole the show.

Despite winning, Chelsea's team once again had huge holes on the field. Gallagher yet again demonstrated his inability to play as Jorginho's balanced midfield pivot partner. Mateo Kovacic's and N'Golo Kante's injury-prone status means that despite manager Thomas Tuchel's insistence that he is happy with the current make-up of the squad, he may need to do a Jürgen Klopp-like U-turn in the final days of this summer's transfer window.

De Jong's decision to remain in Catalunya is becoming increasingly plausible as a new, shorter contract is being discussed. With four days left, anything is still possible in Barcelona's continuing contractual disagreement with their star midfielder.

The 25-year-old moving to Chelsea is more likely to happen at this point in the transfer window than a surprise Liverpool switch, according to Italian transfer guru Fabrizio Romano. "My understanding is that Chelsea are definitely pressing for him [Frenkie De Jong]," he said to CaughtOffside.

Moving up the field, manager Tuchel has identified Aubameyang as the striker who will perform well in the short term for at least one season.

According to reports, Chelsea initially felt "quite confident" about agreeing to a total package deal worth £22 million for the 33-year-old player.

However, Boehly's insistence on incorporating Marcos Alonso in the agreement, along with issues with personal details about contract length, have caused a delay that will likely cause this deal to fall short of its deadline.

Xavi's choice to name the pair to the team for this Sunday's La Liga match against Rayo Valladolid is a clear indication that neither deal is close to completion. Although it is unclear who of the pair Barcelona will start, Chelsea shouldn't take their participation in the team well. In the midweek charity game versus Man City at the Camp Nou, both played and scored.