Chelsea veteran unsure of future as his contract continues to wind down

Transfer News: Cesar Azpilicueta torn between Chelsea stay and Barcelona move

According to The Express, Cesar Azpilicueta is torn between choosing to stay at Chelsea or deciding to move to Barcelona in the summer transfer window. He has been surrounded by uncertainty for quite a while, and a firm outcome about his future prospects is still unknown at this stage.

Azpilicueta will be available to sign on a free transfer at the end of this season. As such, he can legally reach a pre-contract agreement with foreign clubs, with Barca having expressed an interest. The Spanish club have already offered a two-year deal while having an option to extend it by another year.

The Blues, however, can propose a one year contract to the Spaniard if a particular appearance clause is met moving forward. However, the centre-back is hesitant to negotiate about his future at this moment. He is currently concerned by the uncertainty at the club. He worries that the new prospective owners would not hold the promises made by the previous management.

Azpilicueta must stay!

Following Roman Abramovich’s sanctions, we have been forced into a lot of uncertainty since the UK Government took that stance. That means we cannot engage in contract talks or transfer dealings until the restrictions are lifted moving forward.

We may lose the 32-year-old if the situation does not change in the coming months. However, if the circumstances do revert back to normal, we must try our best to convince the skipper to stay with us past this season. However, if he wants to leave, we should honour his decision for everything he has done for us over the years.

That being said, we can express the severity of our current situation to the Blues captain so that he can stay with us in the short term. Losing him now amidst this financial crisis does not bode well for us as we need to sign a central defender and a right-wingback to compensate for his departure.

What makes things worse is how Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen are also in the final year of their respective contracts as well. As a captain, we need Azpilicueta more than ever to cope with the negative effects of the sanction in the short term.

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Once that is taken care of, Azpilicueta can decide on his future as he desires, moving forward. As such, the one-year extension seems a good option to activate under the current situation. But we should only do so if an agreement can be reached with the defender and not act against his intentions.

Let’s hope that the potential new owners would respect the promises made in the past. However, we are confident that the skipper will not leave us if the club asks him to help them in the current circumstances.