Chelsea deploy a two-pronged approach to retain €10 million-rated Barcelona target

There have been rumours about FC Barcelona’s interest in signing Chelsea’s Cesar Azpilicueta circling since the start of 2022. The Catalans have been looking to sign the Blues’ captain as the club currently lacks definition in the right-back position after the departure of Dani Alves.

As per reports by SPORT, it is suggested that the London-based club are very keen to keep the services of their captain for the next season, with the Spaniard being known for his versatility in defence.

The reports suggest that the Blues have employed two major tactics so far to keep Barça from acquiring Azpilicueta’s service.

The first tactic is that Chelsea have set an unrealistic transfer fee of €10 million for the 32-year-old, a valuation which Barça believes is too high considering his age, as well as his contract situation.

The Catalan club believe the defender’s price to be around €3 million. Chelsea have been looking to exploit Barça’s interest to get a significant fee for the Spaniard and utilise the funds to strengthen their defence.

The second tactic that Todd Boehly seems to have resorted to is the use of Big Data and analytics to show Azpilicueta exactly how valuable he is to the club.

The idea is to show how unique his skillset is compared to their replacement options with the use of parameters ranging from interceptions to kilometres covered to recoveries made.

The major theme has been trying to appeal to Azpilicueta’s love for the club in an attempt to make him stay put.

However, it seems that the Spaniard has made up his mind about a move to Barça and is keen to return to his homeland at an ideal age where he can still perform as a valuable asset to the squad.

Player valuation in title obtained from transfermarkt.com on date of publication.