Alarm bells ringing for Tuchel as Chelsea skipper deep in ‘talks’ with Barcelona

Alarm bells will be ringing in the ears of Thomas Tuchel at Chelsea with the news that Cesar Azpilicueta is reportedly deep in talks with Barcelona over a summer transfer.

Tuchel has pinned his hopes on the 32-year-old this season after injuries to Reece James and Ben Chilwell. Neither are close to a return with James’ recovery suffering a setback after contracting flu. Chilwell meanwhile seems unlikely to play again this season after rupturing his cruciate ligament.

It means Tuchel is relying on his captain, whose contract expires in the summer. That means the experienced defender is available on a free transfer this summer if he fails to agree a new deal at Stamford Bridge.

Tuchel was desperate for cover in January. However, Chelsea could not close the arrival of Lucas Digne, who ended up at Aston Villa. And they were unable to bring Emerson Palmieri back from his loan deal early.

They did however manage to bring Brazilian full-back Kenedy back from Flamengo.

“We tried several operations. But in the end we have stayed with what we have and we are happy with it,” Tuchel said on Friday.

Tuchel asks Chelsea to push for Eder Militao from Real Madrid

Thomas Tuchel wants Eder Militao in the summer from Real Madrid

Azpilicueta, who joined the club from Marseille back in 2012, is thought to be chasing a deal longer than 12 months. As per The Atheltic, Azpilicueta’s preference is to stay but he wants at least a two-year contract.

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‘Humble’ Azpilicueta

Chelsea are not accustomed to offering long deals to players over 30 and a stand off has ensued. Tuchel though is a big fan and labelled his skipper a “humble character”.

Azpilicueta’s representatives have not stood still though and instead have been negotiating with Barcelona.

Mundo Deportivo reveal Barcelona are in talks over a summer move for the Chelsea man and in fact entered into negotiations “several weeks ago”.

Of course, Tuchel has a number of defenders who are all out of contract this summer.

Andreas Christensen, Antonio Rudiger and Thiago Silva could all walk away for free this summer. That would give the German a huge headache and a game of chess from now until the end of the season looks likely.

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