Chelsea
Premier League • England
Top source claims Chelsea could release star one year early as transfer to new league takes shape
Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta has become a target for Inter, according to Italian transfer guru Gianluca Di Marzio – who has some interesting information on how the Blues might facilitate the transfer.
Azpilicueta has been with Chelsea since 2012 and has served as their captain for the past four seasons. However, there has been speculation about his future over the past few summers. Last August, though, he signed a new contract with the club until 2024.
It put an end to links with Barcelona, who had been working on the right-back’s arrival for a while. Yet this year, Azpilicueta is already being linked with an exit again.
Recently, there were rumours that he could reunite with Thomas Tuchel at Bayern Munich, where he could replace Benjamin Pavard. Although, a new solution for Azpilicueta could be to go to Serie A with Inter.
According to Di Marzio, the Champions League runners up have turned their attention to Azpilicueta as they aim to add more experience to their defence.
Inter currently have Denzel Dumfries, Matteo Darmian and Raoul Bellanova as their main right-backs. However, the latter is set to leave after his loan spell from Cagliari; Di Marzio has already revealed he is close to joining Torino instead.
Furthermore, Inter are losing Milan Skriniar at centre-back as his contract expires. In the back-three system they use, his role on the right-hand side might be the one Azpilicueta would be most comfortable taking at this stage of his career.
Chelsea won’t request transfer fee for Azpilicueta
Interestingly, rather than stand in the way of the move, Chelsea would be willing to release Azpilicueta from his contract a year ahead of schedule, Di Marzio has suggested.
Chelsea are currently under pressure to reduce their squad size and balance the books. They have accepted bids for Mateo Kovacic and Kai Havertz from Manchester City and Arsenal respectively.
Moreover, Mason Mount is the subject of serious interest from Man Utd.
Further afield, N’Golo Kante has gone to Al Ittihad in Saudi Arabia; Hakim Ziyech, Kalidou Koulibaly and Edouard Mendy will also be moving to the Middle East with other clubs.
Other players who could be part of their clear out include Romelu Lukaku after his loan spell at Inter, as well as Christian Pulisic, Carney Chukwuemeka, Conor Gallagher and Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
Azpilicueta may also be allowed to move on, with the fact Chelsea would be willing to free him up perhaps reflective of their respect to him for his lengthy service to the club.
The Spain international has made more than 500 appearances across all competitions for the club. However, the season just gone was the first in which he made fewer than 40 appearances for them; of his 32 outings, only 19 were starts.
During his Chelsea career, Azpilicueta has won the Premier League twice, FA Cup and League Cup once each, the Champions League once and Europa League twice, as well as the Super Cup and Club World Cup once apiece.
Due to turn 34 years old in August, it might be time for him to see out the twilight of his career elsewhere. Playing in Serie A with Inter would be a new experience for the former Osasuna and Marseille man – just as moving to the Bundesliga with Bayern would be.
Either way, he would be able to play in the Champions League too, which would not be the case by staying at Chelsea following their finish in the bottom half of the Premier League table.