Chelsea sign Azpilicueta

Chelsea have finally sealed the signature of promising rightback Cesar Azpilicueta from Marseille. The 22 year-old Spanish defender had grabbed the attention of many in the recently concluded London Olympics, and was on the radar of a few other clubs as well. He will, however, not get many first team appearances this season, and has been signed mainly as a replacement for Ivanovic. The transfer fee is reported to be around £7 million.

Azpilicueta is a product of Osasuna’s youth system. He made his La Liga debut against Real Madrid in April 2007. He started out as a midfielder but later established himself as a rightback. He then signed for Marseille in 2010 on a 4-year contract for £7 million. Though he was out with a knee injury in his first season with the the French club, he had a fairly successful second season.

Roberto Di Matteo has completed his fourth signing of the summer, after already securing the deals for Eden Hazard, Oscar and Thorgan Hazard. German winger Marko Marin had already agreed to join Chelsea in April. He joined the club in the pre-season but is out with injury and is expected to return in September. With this signing, the Champions League winners have already spent above £60 million in the summer and the signing of a striker, as a replacement for Didier Drogba, looks to be on the cards before the transfer window closes.