Chelsea, Liverpool in '£35m transfer battle' for Barcelona midfielder who could leave this summer

Chelsea and Liverpool are reportedly interested in signing Barcelona midfielder Marc Casado.

The 21-year-old was a regular fixture on Hansi Flick's side before he picked up a knee injury in March. 

After spending around two months on the sidelines, Casado had to settle for being an unused substitute for Barcelona's final four La Liga games of the season. 

There now appears to be some doubt surrounding Casado's future with the club, even though he is under contract until the summer of 2028.

Casado could find regular starting opportunities hard to come by next season, amid competition from Pedri, Gavi and Frenkie de Jong.

Chelsea, Liverpool targeting Casado

Marc Bernal is also set to return from a long-term knee injury, which could knock Casado further down the pecking order in Flick's squad. 

According to El Nacional, Chelsea and Liverpool could both offer the Spain international a route out of Barcelona this summer.

The report suggests that the two Premier League giants are both willing to offer €40m (£35m) to secure Casado's services.

Serie A champions Napoli and German side Bayer Leverkusen are also showing an interest in signing the Barcelona youngster.

While Barcelona could consider a sale, Casado would rather stay at his boyhood club for the foreseeable future.

However, he will recognise that it will be difficult to force his way into the Spain squad for the 2026 World Cup if he is not playing regular football.

Do Chelsea or Liverpool need Casado this summer?

Casado is undoubtedly a talented footballer and has the potential to grow into one of Europe's top midfielders.

However, it is difficult to see why Chelsea would need to sign him, given the number of central midfield options that are already at Enzo Maresca's disposal.

The Chelsea boss can already call upon Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez, Romeo Lavia, Dario Essugo, Andrey Santos and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.

As for Liverpool, they could be on the lookout for a new defensive midfielder after they failed to sign Martin Zubimendi last summer.

Their need midfielder would increase if Wataru Endo departs, although the 32-year-old recently hinted that he is set to stay at Anfield.