Cesar Azpilicueta is out of contract this summer. (Photo by Francois Nel/Getty Images)
According to transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano, Barcelona are now confident about completing a move for Chelsea skipper Cesar Azpilicueta in the summer transfer window. This update would be a major blow to the English club, considering the potential defensive crisis that awaits them at the end of this season.
Azpilicueta will see his current deal at Stamford Bridge expire at the end of this campaign. He is legally able to reach a pre-contract agreement with clubs outside England as a result. Now, it seems that the captain is close to moving to Camp Nou based on Romano‘s latest update.
Barca have expressed to the 32-year-old that they are ready to wait for his final decision. The Spanish club has already offered their proposal, which is a two-year contract with an option of an additional year. The veteran will take a stance on his future depending on his “life, family”, and other factors.
Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger are also in line to depart on a free in the summer transfer window, just like the Spanish veteran. As such, we cannot afford to lose all three of them altogether since it would put us in a precarious situation. The expense involved in replacing them would be costly as well.
Moreover, other clubs could take advantage of the situation and haggle us for a higher fee due to the potential crisis that awaits us and the desperation we may display as a result. Hence we must safeguard our interests by renewing at least two of the three defenders. After all, having stability in the defence is crucial since the backline is arguably our best weapon at this moment.
We have a tendency not to offer players in their thirties long contracts, and Azpilicueta would fall under that category. So we could see the board deciding to part ways with the Premier League star next summer. However, what makes his potential exit even worse is the lack of adequate options in the right-wingback area.
With Reece James being the only natural choice, one would wonder whether we can bring in a right-wingback and a centre-back at the same time. Let’s hope that Marina Granovskaia has considered all the possible outcomes that could unravel in the future due to Azpi’s sale so that we can tackle any situation that awaits us.
It remains to be seen how this situation would develop in the coming months ahead of the summer transfer window. Whatever the case it may be, we must prepare safety nets in case we lose some of our most crucial defenders this summer.
Barca offer Azpi a chance to play in his native country, while the ex-Marseille star has arguably achieved everything he could have in a Blue shirt. It would be a pleasure seeing our captain stay at the Bridge for a few years more, but with each passing week, that seems more and more unlikely.
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