Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta is hopeful he will reach an agreement to join Barcelona on a free transfer in the coming weeks.
The Spain international has won every single trophy available to him in his ten seasons as a Blues player.
However, his contract is set to expire in the summer and 90min revealed Chelsea were already resigned to losing him on a Bosman deal even prior to sanctions being brought against club owner Roman Abramovich, restricting the Blues' ability to hand out new deals.
Along with fellow defender Andreas Christensen, Azpilicueta has been the subject of interest from Barcelona, and the 32-year-old has mutual feelings regarding a summer transfer.
Catalan outlet Sport report that Azpilicueta wants to 'take advantage' of Chelsea's precarious position in order to secure an exit.
It's believed that the versatile defender has a clause in his contract to extend it by a further year which will kick in after he makes a certain number of appearances, though he will ask Chelsea to let him leave regardless and hopes his years of service will help sway the club's decision.
The problem that could arise is that Chelsea may still be under what is effectively a transfer embargo if the UK government does not approve of the club's sale by then, while they are also expected to lose Antonio Rudiger on a free transfer as well, potentially leaving them short at the back.
Meanwhile, Barcelona are also planning to sign Ajax right-back Noussair Mazraoui this summer. Should they bring in the Morocco international on top of Azpilicueta, then they will be open to offers for USMNT star Sergino Dest.
Source : 90min