Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel has confirmed that he omitted Marcos Alonso from the Blues' matchday squad to face Everton as he has asked to join Barcelona.
90min revealed on Friday that Barça were confident of concluding a deal for Alonso this month, and suspicions that a deal was close were raised when Alonso was not named in Chelsea's matchday squad for their season opener on Saturday.
Following the west Londoners' 1-0 win at Goodison Park, Tuchel confirmed that Alonso has asked to leave and so was left out of their travelling party.
When asked if Alonso had asked to leave Stamford Bridge, Tuchel said: "That is the case. He tries to leave and we agreed to this wish. That's why it would not have made sense to put him on the pitch today.
"He would've been on the pitch otherwise but in this situation, it was the right thing to do."
Scott Saunders, Graeme Bailey & Sean Walsh bring you Talking Transfers, discussing Chelsea's plans to sign Wesley Fofana. There's the latest on James Maddison, Jamie Vardy, Cristiano Ronaldo and Frenkie de Jong, and chat on Diogo Jota's new deal and Roberto Firmino's Liverpool future. Available on all audio platforms and the 90min YouTube channel.
If you can't see the podcast embed, click here to download the episode in full!
While Alonso is looking to leave Chelsea for Barcelona, Cesar Azpilicueta has shelved his own plans of moving to Camp Nou.
The Blues captain penned a new two-year contract with the club earlier this week, bringing an end to Barça's immediate interest in him.
This article was originally published on 90min as Thomas Tuchel confirms Marcos Alonso is seeking Barcelona move.
Source: www.90min.com