Barcelona urge Chelsea star to hand in transfer request to 'force his exit' from club: Reports

Barcelona are reportedly keen to secure the services of Chelsea veteran Cesar Azpilicueta this summer. The player is believed to be in favor of the move as well.

However, the Catalans are unimpressed by the Spaniard's passive approach in getting the transfer across the line. They are believed to have handed him an ultimatum.

According to The Sun, Barcelona have told the Chelsea captain to hand in a transfer request to complete his move to Camp Nou soon. A clause in Azpilicueta's contract saw his tenure extended by 12 months last term, meaning he will only be able to leave as a free agent in 2023.

However, the 32-year-old wishes to move to Spain and will need to convince Chelsea to allow him to leave in a gentleman's agreement. Dani Alves is set to leave Barcelona after joining them last November on a short-term contract.

The space vacated by him means Xavi Hernandez is eager to seal Azpilicueta's transfer at the earliest.

However, Azpiicueta is well aware that forcing his exit will put his legacy at Stamford Bridge in peril. He is therefore hesitant to act on the transfer with real purpose.

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Chelsea boss Tuchel opens up about Barcelona linked defender's situation

Amidst the pressure to resolve the situation regarding Azpilicueta's contract, Thomas Tuchel will sit with the Spaniard to discuss their next move. However, the German made it clear that solving Barcelona's problems is none of their business. He stressed that Chelsea will do what they can to hold on to their captain.

He said, via the Mirror:

"His extension kicked in at the same time and he loves the club, he loves the challenge and he loves to be here. He is our captain, we are still in dialogue and at some point we are also selfish because we are not responsible to solve any other club’s problems or to fulfil any other club’s wishes."

Tuchel also pointed out that the loss of Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen on free transfers also makes it difficult for them to lose Azpilicueta. However, he admits that they may be ready to make an exception in this situation given the defender's legendary status. He said:

"Given the fact that we lose key defenders already, it’s not the ideal scenario to think about losing Azpi, even though I can understand his personal point of view. At some point, if you are a legend which he is, you deserve from me and the club a second look at it, to see if there’s maybe an exception from the rule and we are still in this process."

Since joining the Stamford Bridge outfit in 2012, the Barcelona target has made 476 appearances for Chelsea and is thoroughly loved by their supporters.