Chelsea Transfer News: Latest on Sergio Busquets' Barcelona Contract Situation

Barcelona are reportedly ready to break the bank for star midfielder Sergio Busquets, as contract negotiations between both parties seem to be coming to an end, thus putting a stop to transfer rumours linking him with a move to Chelsea.

According to AS' Moises Llorens, the Catalans are keen on Busquets' image rights and will reward the Spain international with a hefty new contract in return:

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Barcelona have been revising their sponsorship deals and view giving Busquets a pay rise as a bargaining chip for another goal: to obtain the player’s image rights for use in future promotional campaigns. Potential new sponsors have been in talks with the club president, Josep Maria Bartomeu, and the director general Raül Sanllehí, and these of course want the club’s highest-profile players to be available to hawk their wares. Among these is Busquets. Messi and Neymar are a separate matter in terms of marketability but they too are on the list of stars interested parties want to sign up to pump money into the club.

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The 26-year-old is still under contract for the foreseeable future, but his consistent excellent performances and rumours of an impending offer from the Premier League led to the Blaugrana opening negotiations to improve his current wages.

According to AS (h/t Barcastuff), several English clubs expressed an interest in the star holding midfielder:

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Despite several offers from English clubs, Sergio Busquets (26) has instructed agent to accept Barcelona's offer to renew until 2020. [as]

— barcastuff (@barcastuff) February 5, 2015"

Busquets has been with the Catalans his entire senior career and became a regular under former manager Pep Guardiola. As one of the world's top ball-winners and an underrated distributor, he holds a high esteem among both his peers and the fans.

When Whitehouse Address recently tried to make the case for Chelsea's Nemanja Matic as the top holding midfielder in football today, the writer was bombarded by fans to the point they felt the need to tackle the issue:

It's no wonder other clubs are reportedly keen on prying the Spaniard away from the Blaugrana, with the Daily Express' Anthony Chapman highlighting the Blues, Arsenal and Manchester United as potential suitors.

The emergence of talented youngster Sergi Samper led to even more speculation. The 20-year-old is almost a carbon copy of Busquets, possessing the same calm on the ball to go with incredible vision for such a young player.

David Ramos/Getty Images

ESPN FC's Lee Roden thinks the talented La Masia product will stroll into the senior squad once he's permanently promoted by manager Luis Enrique:

Samper is an unproven commodity, however—Busquets has been one of the world's top midfielders for years. The younger option is an excellent player to have in case Busquets forces his way out of the club, but the perfect scenario for the Blaugrana would be to have Samper learn all of Busquets' secrets for the next couple of years.

The aforementioned Matic always made the Blues an odd candidate as a possible landing spot for Busquets. The Serb has been one of the top performers in the Premier League this past season—there's no need to go looking for a replacement.

Busquets' current contract doesn't expire until 2018, so it's not like the Blues would be adding depth by bringing the player in on a reduced fee. In the event of a transfer, Busquets would carry a significant price tag.

Such a transfer seems all but impossible with the news the Spaniard is close to putting pen to paper on a new deal and continuing his career with the only club he has ever represented on the senior level.