Barcelona still tracking Chelsea loanee Andreas Christensen ahead of future move

Barcelona are still keeping a close eye on Chelsea loanee Andreas Christensen ahead of a future move, according to Mundo Deportivo. Luis Enrique's side have earmarked the signing of a young centre-back and a right-back as the main priorities for the coming transfer windows.

The Catalans' summer spending spree saw them add depth to their squad with the additions of Paco Alcacer, Andre Gomes, Samuel Umtiti, Lucas Digne, Denis Suarez and Jasper Cillessen. However, they failed to sign replacements for Marc Bartra and Dani Alves, who both left the club during the window.

Mundo Deportivo says that Barcelona are already working to fill those gaps in upcoming windows. Aleix Vidal has failed to impress at right-back while Jeremy Mathieu and Javier Mascherano are both the wrong side of 30.

Barcelona have been linked with a number of full-backs in recent weeks, such as Arsenal's Hector Bellerin, Manchester United's Matteo Darmian and Valencia's Joao Cancelo.

Now Mundo Deportivo has reported on the names they believe to be top of the club's shopping list, with Atletico Madrid's Lucas Hernandez featuring ahead of Christensen, Lyon's Emanuel Mammana and Hoffenheim's Fabian Schärr.

Mundo Deportivo reported in March that Barcelona technical director Robert Fernandez was closely monitoring the 20-year-old Chelsea starlet following his impressive spell at Borussia Monchengladbach. The Catalans eventually signed Umtiti to replace Thomas Vermalen, but failed to lure another young centre-back like Las Palmas starlet Mauricio Lemos to fill the gap left by Bartra.

Mundo Deportivo says that while Lemos is no longer a target for Barcelona, they have not given up on Christensen as they are still in the market for a "new Umtiti".

However, the Catalans are aware that Chelsea will not let him go on the cheap and are considering other alternatives. Borussia Monchengladbach have also claimed a number of times that they would like to secure the player's services on a permanent basis if possible.