Spanish football expert and Sky Sports Pundit Guillem Balague has revealed that Chelsea defender Cesar Azpilicueta is a wanted man this summer.
The full-back, who moved to Stamford Bridge from Marseille in 2012, has been a top performer in the side and Balague reports that the defender has attracted big interest from several top European clubs.
Azpilicueta is a fan favourite among Chelsea supporters and is well known and respected for his outstanding work ethic and understanding of the game. Former boss Jose Mourinho is a known admirer of the defender, but Balague believes that if Chelsea were willing to sell they would only consider clubs outside the Premier League.
Balague believes Chelsea value the Spanish international at around £14million, which is a bargain price for such a well known player with such a quality talent. The 26-year-old is not known to want to leave the club, however interest from his native Spain could persuade him to leave, as both Barcelona and Atletico Madrid are monitoring the situation.
Balague said: “Some of the top clubs in Europe are after Azpilicueta’s signature, not least because of his versatility in being able to play in both full-back positions with equal confidence. If Chelsea were willing to sell, the front runners would be Atletico Madrid, although they have recently coolled on the idea, turning their attentions instead to Croatian full-back Sime Vrsaljko, who will soon confirm that he is moving to the Spanish club.”
“There are, however, a host of clubs and top-flight managers that would love to see the Pamplona-born defender join their ranks, not least Unai Emery who is, as we write, on the very verge of taking over from Laurent Blanc at PSG. Of course if he would like to go back to his roots, Athletic Bilbao and Ernesto Valverde would also be pleased to see him, qualifying as he does via his place of birth to play for the Basque side.”
“Bayern Munich are also known to have made an inquiry and his ambidextrous qualities are also much sought-after by Barcelona. In truth, the player that Barcelona really want is Hector Bellerin and they still think they have a chance of taking him from under Arsenal’s nose. Unfortunately for them Arsenal have made it abundantly clear that Bellerin is going nowhere, at any price, hence Barcelona’s plan B which involves Azpilicueta.”
“The problem there is that if Chelsea are going to sell him, to make it worth their while they will be looking for around 18m euros for the utility full-back, considerably more than Barcelona were thinking of paying. And then of course there’s Manchester United now under the rule of Jose Mourinho. The Portuguese manager knows the player well but whether or not Chelsea would be prepared to sell Azpilicueta – at any price – to the club of their former manager and to a rival in England is another matter altogether. I very much doubt it. Chelsea will however stick to their valuation primarily because they would be quite happy to see him stay at the club although they wouldn’t stand in his way if they received an offer that they felt they couldn’t refuse.”
[All quotes sourced via Sky Sports]
Azpilicueta is one of the finest full-backs in the game and is incredibly versatile. It remains to be seen what decision the club will make regarding the defender, but it is likely that Chelsea will do their best to keep hold of the player.