Barcelona are set to recruit Andreas Christensen of Chelsea and Franck Kessie of AC Milan, according to Guillem Balague.

According to Guillem Balague, Barcelona has agreed to recruit Chelsea defender Andreas Christensen and AC Milan midfielder Franck Kessie on free transfers when their contracts expire in June.

Cesar Azpilicueta, the captain of Chelsea, is also in negotiations with the Spanish club about a free move this summer.

Joan Laporta, the club's president, confirmed the signing of two players but declined to name them.

He said, "We've finalized two signings for the next season."

In an interview with Catalan radio station Rac1, Laporta said: "One is a central defender and the other is a midfielder. However, I am not permitted to divulge their names."

Since joining AC Milan from Atalanta in 2017, Kessie has made 215 appearances for the Italian club, but he declared earlier this season that he will not be renewing his contract.

Since joining Chelsea as a 16-year-old from Danish side Brondby in 2012, Christensen has made 156 appearances for the Blues.

Azpilicueta, like Christensen, is out of contract at the end of the season.

Due to sanctions imposed on Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the club is unable to give new contracts to players.

Since moving into the last six months of their contracts in January, all three players have been eligible to talk terms with foreign-based clubs.

According to Balague, BBC Sport's European football expert, Barcelona is also interested in Leeds forward Raphinha and has reached an agreement with him, but the Yorkshire club has requested that talks over a fee be postponed until next month so that they can concentrate on their fight to avoid relegation from the Premier League.

If Raphinha joins the Nou Camp, France's Ousmane Dembele is expected to leave, with Paris Saint-Germain leading the race to recruit the former Borussia Dortmund player.

The club wants to make Adama Traore's loan from Wolves permanent, thus Trincao, who is on a season-long loan at Molineux, will likely be used as part of a swap deal.

Barca, on the other hand, is not in the running for Erling Braut Haaland, a prolific Norway striker who is slated to depart Borussia Dortmund this summer.

Barcelona considered a trade for Haaland, but the figures initially out by Real Madrid and Manchester City were too high.