Chelsea handed fresh transfer blow as Barcelona reach ‘total’ agreement

Chelsea look set to offload senior star Cesar Azpilicueta this summer.

The Spaniard has been heavily linked with a move away as he enters the final year of his contract.

Barcelona have been chasing his signature throughout this summer as they look to add to the signing of Andreas Christensen from the Blues.

And it seems the Catalan giants have now made a breakthrough as they celebrate the signing of Bayern Munich superstar Robert Lewandowski.

According to Sport, Barca have now reached a deal in principle with Chelsea for the signing of Azpilicueta, who at the age of 32, could get the opportunity to finish his career in his home country.

The report claims there is now a ‘total’ agreement between Barca and Azpilicueta, and a deal could be finalised in the next few days.

Chelsea have already been weighing up options to replace Azpilicueta, aware that he could leave this summer.

The 32-year-old has been with Chelsea since 2012, racking up 324 Premier League appearances, winning a number of titles, including two Premier League titles and a Champions League.

Azpilicueta will leave Stamford Bridge having won all there is to win.

Speaking in May, Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel admitted his captain’s future would be in his own hands.

“He deserves it. And I listen to my captain. He has been at this club for more than a decade, so he has this right. This is my opinion,” said the Blues boss.

“He is everything Chelsea is about, and I am so, so happy he is the captain because he is humble, hard-working, a nice guy and a polite guy. I am happy that in football, it’s possible a guy like this can win all the trophies. That sets the example. It sets the tone. It sets the atmosphere at a very high level.

“This is absolutely clear, but there are more layers and levels we have to consider. It is also whether he can give all that, whether he is fully committed. If he cannot get rid of this feeling [about wanting a new challenge], we have to talk about it openly, seriously, and respectfully because he deserves it.

“We (need to) find out if he can give everything that makes him special. I think, with all the respect, he can only be special if he is committed 100% and does not have another little voice in his head, not one concern in his head, that he should have done something differently.

“He is only the guy he is when he is fully committed. That is his foundation. So this is what we have to find out. That does not mean we find it out tomorrow or today, we still have time because we are also in the privileged position where we have a contract. We have to see.”

It seems Azpilicueta’s future could be at Camp Nou, but he will leave Chelsea as a club legend should he depart.