Chelsea could be dealt January transfer window blow with Barcelona in pursuit of Cesar Azpilicueta

Chelsea could be dealt a massive blow in the upcoming January transfer window, as captain Cesar Azpilcueta is reportedly being pursued by Barcelona.

The Spanish giants have already started spending ahead of the upcoming window as they look to rebuild their team, signing Ferran Torres from Manchester City for around £55 million.

Now they are turning their attention to the versatile Basque defender, according to Spanish journalist Gerard Romero.

Azpilicueta has been at Chelsea for almost 10 years, after signing for the west London club from Marseille in the 2012 summer transfer window for £7 million, and if he leaves, will undoubtedly leave a Chelsea legend.

He has captained the club for many years now, and has won the Champions League, Europa League, Premier League, FA Cup, Carabao Cup and also lifted the European Super Cup.

He also has made over 450 appearances for Chelsea, and the only foreign player to have made more appearances for Chelsea is Petr Cech.

Azpilicueta is known for being tenacious, and extremely reliable.

Across his nine years at the club, he has been deployed at right back, right wing back, left back, left wing back and centre back, and has even slotted in as a defensive midfielder on a couple of occasions.

This deal may be tricky for Barcelona to complete.

With injuries stacking up at the back for Chelsea, and Antonio Rudiger’s future looking more and more likely to be away from Stamford Bridge, they may wish to keep their captain around.

But, he is now 32, and may wish to undertake a new challenge after winning multiple trophies in England.

Despite being one of the biggest clubs in the world, Barcelona have endured a horrid season.

They are set to play Europa League football for the first time in 18 years after being dumped out of the Champions League, lost their talisman Lionel Messi to PSG in the summer and sit 7th in La Liga, 18 points off of the leaders.

Their money troubles are well known, too. They have relied on frees or loans but still flexed their muscles as they prized the highly rated Ferran Torres from City, and are now switching their focus to the Chelsea captain.