Chelsea Transfer News: Tuchel Reveals Stance On Club Captain's Future Amid Barcelona Link-Up

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel remains unfazed by transfer rumors involving one of his veterans.

Cesar Azpilicueta has been with Chelsea for nine years, having left Marseille in the summer of 2012 for English football.

However, his future with the Blues has become uncertain this season with his contract renewal yet to materialize.

Revealing his take on the defender’s situation, Tuchel is confident Azpilicueta has reasons “to stay” and there’s nothing to worry about thus far.

“I don’t see any problem here,” Tuchel told Chelsea’s official website. “The situation between Azpi, me and the club is very clear. He is our captain. He has all possibilities to stay here as long as possible and become the legend he already is.”

“He is a fantastic captain and a fantastic player."

Azpilicueta, who captained the Chelsea squad that won the 2021 UEFA Champions League title, has captured the attention of foreign clubs with La Liga side Barcelona said to be leading the race.

An earlier report said that Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez “values” Azpilicueta’s “ability to play at right-back in a four-man defense or on the right of a back three” and is very keen on bringing him in at Camp Nou.

However, according to reputable journalist Eduardo Inda, Chelsea will not let it happen as Azpilicueta’s contract extension will definitely be executed.

"Chelsea has a unilateral renewal clause for a year that it will exercise,” Inda said. “If Chelsea decides to renew him, he has to stay and there is no possibility of him coming to Barca."

After making 19 appearances across all competitions for Chelsea this season, Azpilicueta suddenly fell out of Tuchel’s pecking order, having started in just two of the club’s 10 matches since late October.

As per Tuchel, there’s no other issue behind Azpilicueta’s lack of playing time as everything was done based on circumstances.

“If there are some weeks where he does not play so much, like in the last weeks, there are some reasons,” the German explained. “First of all, he was injured in his shoulder. Second of all, the team played very strong in his positions with Trevoh [Chalobah] and Andreas [Christensen], and at wing-back with Reecey [James].”

“That’s how it is,” he continued. “If there is any player who knows it is like this, it’s Azpi. He is very calm. He has everything in his own hands. I see no signs we should be worried about it."