Chelsea willing to sell international defender and identify replacement
Soccer Football - Premier League - Newcastle United vs Chelsea - St James' Park, Newcastle, Britain - May 13, 2018 Chelsea's Cesar Azpilicueta applauds fans after the match REUTERS/Scott Heppell EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or "live" services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. Please contact your account representative for further details.
Chelsea are set for a wealth of transfer activity this summer, although moves in the market have so far been delayed due to the club’s precarious managerial situation.
A resolution appears to be on the cards though, with former Napoli boss Maurizio Sarri widely reported to be set to replace Antonio Conte at Stamford Bridge, and it’s suggested a huge call is about to be made in the transfer market.
Spanish outlet El Gol Digital state that Chelsea are prepared to sanction the departure of Spain international Cesar Azpilicueta, who is keen to return to his homeland and has regularly been linked with a move to join Athletic Bilbao.
It is claimed Chelsea will approve a sale of Azpilicueta for just £17.6m once they secure their ideal replacement in the market, with the club said to be eyeing the services of Inter Milan’s 33-year-old Joao Miranda.
However, a move for the veteran seems unlikely due to Chelsea’s policy of only handing one-year deals to players over the age of 30 and a more likely replacement is Juventus’ Daniele Rugani.