Barcelona Transfer News: Gerard Pique available to Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United for €25 Million

The services of Barcelona center-back are available to the highest bidder according to the Evening Standard (via Goal Transfer Talk). Per the report, the 27-year-old is wanted by Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United in the January window.

A transfer fee of £25 million would be required to trigger any move.

Poor form has seen Pique fall out of favor with the Barcelona faithful. A poll from Spanish outlet Marca identified his play as the third reason for the club's failure in El Clasico with Real Madrid. Manager Luis Enrique's recent comments only exacerbated the situation.

"We assess players each week," Enrique said (via Barca Sport). "We look at that to make the best decisions for the team."

"Any player must be prepared to face such situations," he added when asked about the recent interest in his center-back. "These kinds of comments about their performance or possible interests [are always made]. Part of being an elite player is knowing to stay out of it."

In six appearances this season, Pique is averaging a modest six defensive actions. Only Jeremy Mathieu and Martin Montoya have been able to match that productivity. That, however, still pales in comparison to the elite center-backs in all of Europe. Valencia's Nicolas Otamendi leads La Liga with 11.75 defensive action per match.

To his credit, Pique is yet to commit a defensive error in 2014 and at 27, would still serve as a serviceable defender in the Barclay's Premier League. The club that activates his transfer fee, if any, remains to be seen.

Note: Credit all statistics to officially licensed data from Opta Sports (via Squawka).

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