Chelsea demand £7million transfer fee from Barcelona for Azpilicueta with defender ‘already agreeing two-year deal’
CHELSEA are demanding a fee of £7million to sell Cesar Azpilicueta to Barcelona, according to reports.
Azpilicueta has been at Stamford Bridge since 2012, and has completed a clean sweep of trophies with the club in his time there.
But now his time at the club could soon be coming to an end, with the Spaniard reportedly agreeing personal terms on a two-year deal with Barcelona.
According to the Evening Standard, this deal will see him pocket £11m a season before tax in what will be a substantial pay rise for him.
The report indicates the 32-year-old has already spoken to manager Thomas Tuchel and new owner Todd Boehly about pursuing the move.
Barca are desperate to land the Spanish defender to provide manager Xavi with some much needed squad depth.
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This would be in addition the acquisitions of Franck Kessie and former Chelsea defender Andreas Christensen, who both joined on free transfers.
Chelsea have already lost Chistensen and Antonio Rudiger from their back-line, and consequently Tuchel is not keen to allow another defender to leave the club.
Procuring new defensive assets has thus far proven difficult too.
A deal for former academy player Nathan Ake is edging closer to completion, while a deal for Matthijs de Ligt will depend on Bayern Munich’s negotiations with Juventus.
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Azpilicueta joined the Chelsea squad as they jetted off for their pre-season tour to Los Angeles earlier this week.
New owner Boehly was also pictured arriving for dinner in Barcelona with club president Joan Laporta amid reports he could try to engineer a move to hijack Man United’s transfer for Frenkie de Jong.
Raheem Sterling is also close to completing a move to Stamford Bridge after agreeing personal terms.