Thomas Tuchel ‘annoyed’ with Barcelona over their pursuit of Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has admitted, via Fabrizio Romano, that he’s ‘annoyed’ with Barcelona over their pursuit of Cesar Azpilicuta. The German has had conversations with the club captain about the situation.
Tuchel also eluded to the fact that Azpilicueta wants a move away and isn’t happy with how everything has unfolded. The Catalans have been interested in bringing the Spaniard to the Camp Nou for a long time.
Barcelona have already taken one of our former centre-backs, Andreas Christensen, on a free transfer after his contract expired earlier this summer. Marcos Alonso is another name that is linked with the Spanish giants.
Antonio Rudiger also left at the end of his contract and joined Real Madrid. The German was one of the best defenders for us in the last two seasons alongside Thiago Silva.
Azpilicueta an important part of the squad
Azpilicueta is the club captain and his potential move away would be a big blow. The 32-year-old is a versatile defender capable of playing at right-back or centre-back.
With a dearth of experienced defensive options, it’s imperative we keep a hold of our players until we have signed replacements. We currently have Silva and Kalidou Koulibaly as well as Trevoh Chalobah and Malang Sarr as our centre-back options.
Also, for the right-back role, Reece James is the only quality option at Tuchel’s disposal. And Azpilicueta had the ability to step in the role when the England international got injured last season.
Chalobah and Sarr aren’t experienced enough yet. Trusting them week in, week out is a big task. It remains to be seen whether Tuchel plays two or three at the back at the start of next season.
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Azpilicuta has been with the club since 2012. He’s our captain. The 32-year-old is still a quality player. And his ability to play in multiple positions makes the Spaniard an important part of the squad.