Cagliari director rules out January move for Chelsea target Nicolo Barella

One of those names supposedly on Chelsea’s transfer radar for the winter transfer window, especially after Cesc Fàbregas’s departure to Monaco became obvious and imminent, has been Cagliari’s Nicolò Barella. The 21-year-old midfielder may not have the same playing style as Cesc, but he’s generally considered to be a potentially useful addition.

However, the rumors largely died out after reports of Barella’s unwillingness to move at this time, citing concerns over doing so at such a young age. And yesterday, Cagliari director Mario Passetti hammered home the last nail on that coffin.

“We continue to talk about him, we do interviews and issue statements, but evidently we’re not being clear enough: we reiterate that [Barella] will stay for at least for the next six months. After that, we’ll see what happens in the summer. We have big ambitions and Nicolò gives 1000 percent in every training session and he’s happy to be at Cagliari. Selling him isn’t one of our objectives.”

-Mario Passetti; source: Rai Sport via Football Italia

While Chelsea might come back for Barella in the summer, we do need a new signing this month as well — fortunately the Leandro Paredes pursuit continues trending to a positive conclusion, and his profile is much, much closer to Fàbregas’s, even.