Chelsea star Marcos Alonso returns to Cobham after delay in Barcelona move that could leave him stranded

Chelsea defender Marcos Alonso is back to the club’s training centre where he will be working and awaiting the completion of his Barcelona move.

The future of the full-back is hanging in the balance - even though he has agreed personal terms and length of contract with the Spanish giants Barcelona.

According to broad reports in Spain, Alonso has already agreed a three year deal with Barcelona but the move is being held back by the fact the club have still not been able to register new signing Jules Koundé who they bought from Sevilla.

The defender has not been in the team since the arrival of Marc Cucurella from Brighton and Hove Albion and Chelsea are happy to let him return to Spain.

Emerson Palmieri, Ben Chilwell and new signing Marc Cucurella are all left-backs and Thomas Tuchel and new owner Todd Boehly are quite keen on letting some of them go to trim the squad and freshen things up.

West Ham had been interested in signing Italian defender Emerson Palmieri, but the deal is reported to have fallen through due to high wage demand from the player’s side.

Chelsea themselves are still in the market seeking to add firepower to their attacking line-up.

There is a reported meeting between the club and the representatives of Barcelona striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang later today with a bid in the region of £24 million likely to be enough to prize him away from Spain.

The Gabonese striker has worked with Thomas Tuchel in the past and the German manager is convinced that he and fellow new signing Raheem Sterling could lead the team to both continental and Premier League success.