Barcelona have reportedly come to an agreement over an £11m-per-year contract with Chelsea defender Cesar Azpilicueta.
The Spaniard is one of several defensive names in the Stamford Bridge ranks facing an uncertain future, with his existing contract now having less than 18 months left to run.
The uncertainty surrounding Chelsea's takeover did not help matters either, but the club confirmed on Saturday morning that Todd Boehly's consortium will assume control from Roman Abramovich.
Should the takeover go through as planned by the end of May, Chelsea will be able to conduct transfer business - as well as negotiating contract renewals with players - as per usual.
However, Azpilicueta has supposedly made up his mind to leave the club, with the 32-year-old believed to be pining for a switch to Barcelona in the summer.
Now, AS claims that Azpilicueta is on the brink of securing a move to Xavi's side after agreeing a two-year contract until the end of the 2023-24 season.
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Despite the Blaugrana's ongoing financial woes, their situation is not as dire as it was at this point last year, and the report adds that Azpilicueta will earn £11m per year at Camp Nou.
Azpilicueta was reportedly waiting for the club's takeover to be confirmed before discussing his departure with the powers-that-be, and Chelsea will at least be able to recoup a small fee for the defender after his 12-month extension until 2023 was triggered last month.
Azpilicueta's contract option became active after he played a certain number of games for the club in the 2021-22 season, but the ex-Marseille man now appears to be heading for the exit door either way.
Barcelona are also said to possess the possibility to keep Azpilicueta on the books until 2024, and the defender turned down interest from Atletico Madrid to secure a switch to Catalonia.
A trophy-laden 10 years at Chelsea has seen Azpilicueta win the Premier League, Champions League, Europa League, FA Cup, EFL Cup, UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup, and he is currently the club's longest-serving player after his 2012 arrival.
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The 38-cap Spain international has now racked up 471 appearances for Chelsea in all tournaments, scoring 17 goals and providing 56 assists in that time, and he is seventh in the club's all-time appearance list.
Azpilicueta's 2021-22 season has seen him record three goals and three assists from 43 matches, but he was unable to prevent the Blues from suffering a late collapse against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.
As well as Azpilicueta, Barcelona are expected to bring Andreas Christensen to the club on a free transfer this summer, and Marcos Alonso also supposedly wants to move to the La Liga giants.
Furthermore, Thomas Tuchel has already confirmed that Antonio Rudiger will be leaving when his contract runs out in June, and the German is thought to be on the brink of a switch to Real Madrid.
A heavy summer of spending should be on the menu for Chelsea amid their defensive losses, and a recent report claimed that Napoli's Kalidou Koulibaly had been offered to the club.
Having conceded two late goals to draw 2-2 with Wolves on Saturday, Chelsea's lead in third place could be cut to just one point if Arsenal beat Leeds United tomorrow.
Ben Knapton
