Chelsea want Barcelona's £20m World Cup winner Sergio Busquets to bolster aging midfield

Chelsea have reportedly ear-marked Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets as their No 1 target next summer as they continue to search for youth to replace the aging members of the squad.

The World Cup winner came through the ranks at the Camp Nou and despite still being just 22-years-old is a regular in the Catalan's midfield.

However Busquets position could be under threat as the season progresses following Javier Mascherano's £22million-move from Liverpool. The Argentine is still finding his feet but there are suggestions his best form is just around the corner.

That would put Busquets to the bench, a fact that has alerted Chelsea.

Sports newspaper El Mundo Deportivo claims representatives from Stamford Bridge have made tentative enquiries to Barca with the view to a possible switch at the end of the season. Any move, though, is likely to be blocked by Pep Guardiola.

Busquets is contracted until 2013, with the club already preparing a lucrative extension to the deal.

Chelsea's search for youth has seen them sign both Daniel Sturridge and Ramires over the last two years, as well as blood youngsters Gael Kakuta and Josh McEachran in the first-team.