Chelsea defender Cesar Azpilicueta refuses to comment much on his future as he sends Barcelona uncertain 13-word message ahead of potential free summer transfer swoop.
Azpilicueta, 32, has won it all in west London during his 10-year stay in the English capital and with a couple of months left on his contract, is set to walk away for free. The club's current sanctions mean that he cannot sign a new deal if a presentable one that matched his demands were met.
Consequently, Barcelona's chances of completing a double swoop for Azpilicueta and teammate Andreas Christensen this summer have increased. The club look to be continuing their free signing spree that Xavi and are on due to the financial difficulties that still limit the Catalan giants.
However, signing the aforementioned Chelsea duo coupled with a deal that is reportedly in place for AC Milan's Franck Kessie would prove to be some astute business from a club on their way back, as shown by their recent 4-0 thrashing of Real Madrid in El Clasico. While Chelsea do not currently know what they can do in the summer regarding potential acquisitions, they could benefit massively from the leader staying at least one more season.
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"He is maybe the perfect example to describe, as a person and leader, what I tried to explain with a lot of words at the beginning. He is just doing what he is doing and he's doing it in good times and bad times. He is doing it over and over again," Thomas Tuchel said after Lille in the Champions League. "No matter if he has a personal period when he maybe suffers a bit and isn't playing regularly, or if he has to play as a wing-back which maybe isn't his best position, but he is there and lives on a daily basis what it takes to be Chelsea captain.
"He is a legend already at the club and this is what we need. I don't think we need extra, extra, extra at the moment. We just need a reliable attitude, reliable teamwork, and a reliable spirit. This is what we have and Azpi is a huge part as a captain." Tuchel added regarding the captain's influence in talking to the players during this uncertain time: "I don't know. I don't get too much involved if Azpi is talking to the players. I think he does what he always does and the effect we see now is the product of what we put in on a daily basis. Azpi is a huge part of this."
With all options still on the table, the Blues' No.28, like he did before the Club World Cup Final, refused to commit his future during this March international break to either one of Chelsea or Barcelona as he didn't believe it was right to comment just yet.
"It’s not the right place and the right moment to discuss my future," he professionally swatted away the question in a press conference ahead of friendlies for Luis Enrique's side against Albania and Iceland respectively.
