Denis Suarez Emerges as Surprise Chelsea Target Despite Dismal Loan Spell at Arsenal

​Denis Suarez has emerged as a surprise target for Chelsea, with a permanent departure from Barcelona looking more and more likely this summer.

Having originally moved to Catalonia back in 2013, Suarez was loaned out to Sevilla and subsequently sold to Villarreal, before making a return to Camp Nou in 2016. However, he once again failed to fully establish himself for La Blaugrana, and was eventually loaned to Arsenal in January of this year. 

Upon his arrival at the Emirates, Arsenal fans were hoping that the reuniting of Suarez with manager Unai Emery would result in him replicating the sort of form that saw the midfielder help Emery's Sevilla side to Europa League glory in arguably the Spaniard's best season to date.

Unfortunately, injury restricted Suarez to just four appearances for the Gunners before returning to Barcelona - but according to Sport, that hasn't deterred London rivals Chelsea from taking an interest in his services.

Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri is thought to be a long-term admirer of Suarez, having been keen to sign him for Napoli whilst he was at the helm. With Eden Hazard looking likely to become Real Madrid's latest 'Galactico', Sarri could be in the market to strengthen his midfield options, with Suarez able to operate out wide and in the middle. 

Any potential talks between the Blues and Suarez will be dependent on the outcome of Chelsea's potential transfer ban. Having failed in their original appeal against FIFA's decision, their next course of action could be to lodge an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which could result in an uplifting of the transfer ban or buy them enough time to make signings before the ban is imposed.

If Chelsea's transfer ban makes a move to west London impossible, Suarez would not be short of other suitors. Top of the list would be a move to Valencia, which would see the Spaniard reuniting with manager Marcelino, who he played under during his time at Villarreal.