Chelsea, Everton, Brighton and four more clubs enquired about Bernal this summer

Barcelona midfielder Marc Bernal is set to return to action this month, having spent more than a year out with a cruciate ligament injury. The 18-year-old had a promising start to life in senior football last summer.

Bernal started all of Hansi Flick’s first three games at Barcelona, and impressed early on, before a tragic injury against Rayo Vallecano halted his progress. Bernal has been back training with the first team during preseason, and last month received the green light from the medical staff. MD say that Flick is likely to include him in his squad for their first home game of the season on Sunday against Valencia.

In spite of his injury, and the fact that he is set to sign a new deal until 2029, there was transfer interest in Bernal this summer. The Catalan paper reveal that no fewer than seven clubs enquired about his availability, be it on a transfer or a loan deal. In the Premier League, Chelsea headlined the interest alongside Everton and Brighton and Hove Albion.

In La Liga, it seems much more likely that Bernal was wanted on a loan deal, given the probably high cost of a transfer. Girona, Valencia and Real Betis all made it known they were interested in the prospect of signing Bernal, as did AS Roma in Serie A. Both Barcelona and Bernal were clear that he was staying to recover from injury and get back into the team.

There is no shortage of competition for places for Bernal, with Frenkie de Jong taking on the role he vacated after his injury in the second half of the season. Marc Casado and Gavi are also capable of playing the more positional role alongside Pedri in midfield. The injury to the latter could open the door for Bernal to have more minutes in the coming weeks though.