Chelsea have an option to renew Cesar Azplicueta's contract unilaterally, EFE have learned. The Spain international has a deal until 2022 and has still not reached an agreement to extend his stay with the London club. However, an agreement would not necessarily be essential to renewing his terms.
In the last contract he signed, a clause was included that allows Chelsea to extend his contract without the player's consent. It is not clear if that's by an additional year or for even longer.
In that scenario, the option of Barcelona signing Azplicueta for free in the summer would be blocked. Barça have been in contact with the former Osasuna and Marseille defender for months with the intention of signing him ahead of next season.
The arrival of the right-back would strengthen them in that position, following the failed experiments with Sergiño Dest and Sergi Roberto.
Azpilicueta is still waiting to meet with Chelsea to negotiate the conditions of a possible renewal. He did plan to renew with Chelsea but things have changed since September, while the Premier League club are still waiting to see if Rudiger and Christensen will extend as well.