La Liga heavyweights Barcelona continue to be optimistic about securing the services of Chelsea full-back Cesar Azpilicueta this summer.
According to reputed Spanish journalist Toni Juanmarti, Barcelona’s hopes of signing Cesar Azpilicueta from Chelsea in the summer transfer window are not dead in the water yet. The Catalan club’s relationship with the Blues continues to be cordial despite clashing over several mutual targets.
Cesar Azpilicueta reportedly believes he has reached the end of the line at Chelsea after a decade-long stint at Stamford Bridge. The Spaniard has been a revelation for the Blues with his ability to reprise every role in the defensive unit and has served the club as the captain in the last few years.
The 32-year-old has featured 474 times thus far for Chelsea while chipping in with 17 goals and 56 assists. But Azpilicueta is keen on calling it quits at Stamford Bridge after entering the final year of his contract with the west London club. And Barcelona will look to secure his services in the summer transfer window.
Barcelona did not hand Dani Alves a new contract at the turn of the month, meaning the veteran Brazilian full-back departed from Camp Nou for the second time. Alves’s exit has left Xavi Hernandez with Sergino Dest and Sergi Roberto as the only recognised right-back options at his disposal.
But Dest has yet to convince Xavi that he can be Barcelona’s first-choice right-back, while Roberto has shown signs of regression in the last few years. Barcelona will thus need to invest in a right-back in the summer transfer window, with Azpilicueta their priority target.
The Chelsea defender is reportedly keen on joining the Blaugrana and has already agreed to a two-year contract with the Catalan club. But recent reports had claimed that Chelsea will not deal with Barcelona this summer after having two deals hijacked by them. However, Toni Juanmarti has claimed that the relations between the two clubs remain cordial.
The Spanish journalist has added that Barcelona should soon get the green light from Chelsea for Azpilicueta’s transfer, even though Thomas Tuchel recently suggested that he might block the move due to Barcelona’s tactics to sign the 32-year-old. So it will be interesting to see if Barcelona can successfully secure the services of the Chelsea full-back this summer.
