Barcelona contacted Chelsea centre-back duo Cesar Azpilicueta and Andreas Christensen for summer transfer
According to Sport and Mundo Deportivo (h/t ESPN), Barcelona are ‘in negotiations’ with Chelsea centre-backs Cesar Azpilicueta and Andreas Christensen for facilitating a transfer next summer. They have played a significant role in their team’s success since Thomas Tuchel has taken the managerial job.
Azpilicueta and Christensen will see their contracts with the Blues expire at the end of the current season. Barca have identified this as an opportunity and have held talks with them to discuss a move to Camp Nou. Since they will enter the last six months of their deal next month, they could reach a pre-contract agreement with the Blaugrana club if they want to leave Stamford Bridge next summer.
Xavi Hernandez is an admirer of the Spaniard as he can play in a back four as well as in a three-at-the-back system. The Dane is shortlisted as an option to boost the defences as the Catalans require some reinforcements in the centre-back position.
The Spanish side is looking at defensive targets who will become free agents at the end of the season. They want to save some money and sign a striker for the next campaign. Luiz Felipe from Lazio is another target on their list, who will see his contract expire.
Azpilicueta and Christensen to sign a new contract?
It remains to be seen whether the Blues duo would sign a new deal with us and take a clear stance on their future in the coming days. The ideal situation for us would be to agree to an extension as it ensures that there is no uncertainty among their teammates regarding their futures.
That is not all, as it would help us to have a clear idea of what our next steps would be moving forward. If they are going to leave at the end of this term, then we could look at potential targets to replace them if necessary. Ideally, though, we would want them to stay as restructuring the backline would take time, and there is no guarantee that it would be a seamless process.
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Looking at the current sporting project of the two clubs, it is pretty clear that we have more chances of winning a title than the La Liga club. They have crashed out of the group stages in the Champions League and are in a tight spot in the league table.
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We may well be more secure in terms of our finances as well, as they are suffering from issues in that department. But oftentimes, the promise of playing time for a big club such as Barcelona is enough to do the trick. Hopefully, that is not the case here.
We hope that will be the case and that the issue is solved soon as possible as the concerns among the fans will rise when the transfer window opens up soon. Thiago Silva is ageing while Antonio Rudiger’s future is up in the air. The sooner we can tie down our main players to long-term deals, the better it would be for us considering it is just a few days until the winter transfer window opens.
