Report: Barcelona closing in on Chelsea's Christensen, Milan's Kessie

Barcelona are in advanced talks to sign Chelsea defender Andreas Christensen and AC Milan midfielder Franck Kessie on free transfers in the summer, sources told ESPN's Sam Marsden and Moises Llorens.

The players' respective contracts expire in June, and Barcelona reportedly expect them to join before next season, barring "any late twists" in negotiations. The Spanish club hopes to finalize both deals as soon as possible before they focus on recruiting other players.

Barca are also optimistic of bringing in Christensen's captain at Chelsea, Cesar Azpilicueta, when his Blues contract expires at the end of the campaign, Marsden and Llorens report. A possible stumbling block in the transfer is that Chelsea hold an option to extend the Spaniard's terms by a year, though it's believed the European champions wouldn't block the 32-year-old Azpilicueta from leaving if he wanted to end a decade at Stamford Bridge.

Barcelona's big target, of course, is Erling Haaland. Despite their well-documented financial issues, the club is determined to use the money saved by signing free agents to fund a move for the in-demand Borussia Dortmund striker. Barca head coach Xavi and Jordi Cruyff, who is part of the club's technical team, met with Haaland in Munich on Tuesday, according to Catalonian sports newspaper L'Esportiu.

Haaland's release clause is reportedly set at €75 million this summer. He's drawn interest from many of Europe's biggest clubs, most notably Real Madrid and Manchester City.