Barça were CRAZY ABOUT HIM but he's going to re-sign with his own club
The Blaugranas are set to miss on one of their last objetives of the summer
Barcelona are facing their first real stumbling block in the transfer window. The Catalan giants have been having a great summer, managing to get many of their targets despite the economic troubles that have plagued them for a while. However, nobody can get all their objectives, not even Barça and Joan Laporta, and now the look set to miss out on one of their latest persuits, Chelsea's César Azpilicueta.
César Azpilicueta is a big leader for Chelsea
The Barcelona president recently spoke about a shift in their focus for the latter part of the transfer market, after working heavily on their attacking options early in the window. "We are now looking at strengthening the defense", explained Laporta. One of those targets was Jules Koundé, who they signed from Sevilla. But they were also targetting César Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso from Chelsea.
It will be a miss for the first one, as according to The Athletic, Azpi has signed a new two-year contract that will keep him at Chelsea until June 2024. The Spain international was set to run out of contract this summer, but a performance-related clause was activated, resulting in an automatic 12-month extension.
Since taking over from the previous owner, new Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly is said to have been determined to keep Azpilicueta, and the defender's family is believed to be comfortable with life in England. Sources close to the club laud Azpilicueta's leadership, particularly during the period when Chelsea was subject to sanctions and the subsequent change of ownership, and highlight his dedication and professionalism.
Azpilicueta has won many titles with Chelsea
Those could be the very qualities that Barcelona was chasing him for, after a big number of veterans like Dani Alves leaving the club, but they will have to look for other options. That could be Marcos Alonso, who could be part of the deal Chelsea wants to strike with Barcelona as they chase Frenkie de Jong in the dying embers of the transfer window.
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