Barcelona could soon initiate discussions with Chelsea over a move for Spanish defensive stalwart Cesar Azpilicueta in the summer transfer window.
According to a report by Spanish publication MARCA, Barcelona will not throw their weapons in the pursuit of Cesar Azpilicueta. The Catalan giants are poised to open talks with Chelsea over a possible move for the Spanish defensive stalwart in the summer transfer window.
Cesar Azpilicueta has come a long way since joining Chelsea as a promising 22-year-old defender nearly a decade ago. In the ten years following his arrival at Stamford Bridge, the veteran defender has been an asset for Chelsea, reprising every defensive role while becoming the club captain following Gary Cahill’s departure a few years ago.
To date, the Spanish international has turned out 466 times for Chelsea, chipping in with 16 goals and 56 assists along the way. But Azpilicueta has gone down the pecking order this season and has a little over a year left on his deal after Chelsea exercised the option to extend his stay. The player’s situation has captured the attention of Barcelona.
Barcelona had been attempting to sign Azpilicueta in a Bosman move in the summer transfer window before Chelsea triggered the one-year extension option in his contract. Widespread reports in the last few months had also claimed that the 32-year-old had reached an agreement in principle to join Barcelona.
But with Chelsea extending Azpilicueta’s contract by a year, a spanner has been thrown in the works for Barcelona. But the Catalan giants are not giving up just yet, especially with Noussair Mazraoui increasingly unlikely to move to Camp Nou in the summer transfer window.
The Ajax defender is closing in on joining Bayern Munich instead, forcing Barcelona to scour for alternatives in the market. With Sergino Dest’s future not set in stone yet, pursuing Azpilicueta is hardly surprising, considering Dani Alves is in the twilight of his career. With that in mind, Barcelona could soon open talks with Chelsea over a summer transfer.
Chelsea’s stance on selling Azpilicueta will likely depend on how quickly the troublesome ownership situation gets resolved. Until that happens, the 32-year-old defensive stalwart will not leave Chelsea. So Barcelona will need to keep their options open in the chase for a right-back.