Swiss tabloid hypes up Grasshoppers full back Allan Arigoni with Chelsea, Barcelona link

In one of the more random stories of the January transfer window, Swiss tabloid Blick claims that Chelsea and Barcelona — especially Barcelona! — are supposedly interested in 21-year-old full back Allan Arigoni of Grasshoppers.

Barca scouts and Barcelona B “technical secretary” José Mari Bakero have been hovering already, thanks to the youngster’s attacking skills and extreme speed, which has led to comparisons with BVB (Real Madrid?) wing-back Achraf Hakimi. Arigoni has played mostly right back this season, but has featured on the left, in the center, and in midfield before in his career as well.

While Arigoni, a Swiss youth international, could very well develop into a great player — the last 21-year-old we signed from Switzerland turned out pretty okay ... just for Liverpool rather than us unfortunately — it’s hard to envision this story amounting to anything more than a flight of fancy from a Swiss tabloid, and a rather amusing sidenote to a rather boring transfer window.

Don’t buy his shirt yet, basically.

(Ed.note: that said, perhaps the most shocking aspect of the story is that the famed Grasshopper Club are currently in the second division after suffering relegation for the first time in 68 years last season!)