Barcelona boss swats away talk of Chelsea swoop for £83m midfield maestro

Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick has given his backing to highly-rated midfielder Marc Casado amid speculation linking the out-of-favour Camp Nou star with a move to Premier League giants Chelsea.

Casado established himself as a regular at the base of Flick’s midfield in the first half of the current campaign, earning Spain recognition in the process after particularly impressing in clashes with Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.

However, the 21-year-old has seen his minutes fall on the back of a costly mistake in Barcelona’s 2-1 defeat at home to Atletico Madrid back in December, with Flick opting to take the midfielder out of the firing line as a result.

Since Barca’s Spanish Super Cup triumph over Madrid, Casado has played just one full 90 minutes and has not been handed a single start in the last five LaLiga outings.

That has led to speculation that the Catalan outfit might look to cash in on Casado, who has a €100million (£83m / $104m) release clause in his current contract which runs until 2028.

Indeed, it’s understood that Chelsea are among a host of top English clubs keeping close tabs on the Barca academy product.

However, Casado remains fully committed to Barcelona for the time being and Flick is adamant the defensive midfielder is still at the forefront of his plans.

“No, He has not done anything wrong. I am also speaking with him,” the Barcelona boss told reporters.

“At the moment it is like this because Frenkie [de Jong] is doing really well, he is also producing a good level in ball possession and key moments.

“This is what we need and at the moment it’s like this. Frenkie starts, but Casa is also doing well.”

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Nothing personal for Flick after Casado axe

Flick also underlined that his decision to leave Casado out of his starting XI in recent weeks was nothing personal.

The Germ added: “It’s not a case of: when one plays, it is something against the other.

“Everyone has their job. We are one team, and when everyone plays, they have to play well, it’s a normal thing.”

Pressed on his preference for Dutchman De Jong over Casado, Flick replied: “I am very satisfied with the performance of the entire team.

“It is easy to change players. That is very important and is what I pass on to the team and even more so at the moment of the season we are in.”

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If you could bring one former academy product back to Chelsea, who would you choose?