According to rumours, Barcelona has extended a two-year contract offer to Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta this summer.
Last season, the 32-year-Chelsea old's contract was automatically extended by a year when he reached the number of matches required to trigger an extension provision.
Despite having a year left on his contract, Azpilicueta has been extensively linked with a summer move to Barcelona.
Azpilicueta and his Chelsea teammate Marcos Alonso have been linked with a move to Barcelona this summer, according to recent sources.
The Catalan club, on the other hand, is experiencing financial difficulties this summer, and will be unable to pay huge transfer costs for players.
This can be shown in the fact that they took advantage of Andreas Christensen's contract expiration at Stamford Bridge to offer him a move to Spain, where he will join Xavi Hernandez's team at the end of his Chelsea stay.
Chelsea's Cesar Azpilicueta applauds the crowd after the Premier League match at Stamford Bridge versus Watford. (Alamy)
Barcelona is hopeful that Chelsea will allow Azpilicueta and Alonso to depart for a'very, very reasonable price' this summer as Thomas Tuchel begins his rebuild at Stamford Bridge, according to recent sources.
Fabrizio Romano has already confirmed that Azpilicueta has signed a two-year contract with Barcelona.
However, because his contract was extended, the Spanish side would have to agree on a compensation with Chelsea for his exit.
Xavi's team had hoped to clinch Azpilicueta's return to Spain on a free transfer, as his previous contract was set to expire this summer without an extension.
With Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen already left for La Liga, it is unclear whether Tuchel will allow Azpilicueta to leave.
The Chelsea captain is expected to meet with the club's new owners to discuss his future, and he may request a release this summer.
Tuchel has previously praised his captain, but has stated that if he wants to stay at Chelsea next season, he must be fully committed.
"He embodies everything Chelsea stands for, and I am overjoyed that he is captain because he is modest, hardworking, courteous, and polite. I'm glad that in football, a player like this has a chance to win every trophy. That's a good start. It establishes the tone. "It creates a very high level of atmosphere," he remarked.
"We need to see if he is capable of giving everything that makes him unique. With all due respect, I believe he can only be exceptional if he is completely dedicated and has no other commitments.
When he's fully devoted, he's the guy he is. That is the basis of his existence. So that's what we need to figure out. That doesn't mean we'll find out tomorrow or today; there's still time because we're in the fortunate position of having a contract. We'll have to wait and see.
Barcelona will try to put his devotion to the test as they try to persuade him to transfer to the Camp Nou.
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