Chelsea handed contract boost amid club uncertainty

Chelsea have been handed a personnel boost for next season as it seems likely that Cesar Azpilicueta will remain in west London should the club stay under a transfer ban.

This comes as the Spaniard has now played the requisite number of games to trigger the 12 month extension that was written into his Blues contract.

It comes amid fears that Barcelona were waiting in the wings to snap up the veteran Spaniard on a free transfer this summer, as they looked to continue their rebuild under Xavi Hernandez.

However, Spanish outlet El Mundo Deportivo, confirmed by Matt Law of the Telegraph, report that the extension has kicked in after making a certain number of appearances for the Blues this season. It is unclear what that number was, but it was clearly below the 35 that the 32 year old has made for Thomas Tuchel this season.

As reported by @mundodeportivo – Cesar Azpilicueta’s Chelsea contract extension, which was agreed ahead of sanctions and not because of the threat of them etc, has kicked in because he has made certain amount of appearances this season. It doesn’t necessarily mean he will stay

— Matt Law (@Matt_Law_DT) March 29, 2022

Barcelona confirm Christensen signing

Meanwhile, Barcelona have all but confirmed the signing of Andreas Christensen as a free agent when his Chelsea contract runs out this summer. Speaking during the international break, Barcelona president Joan Laporta revealed that two signings had already been made, one of which was a centre-back.

We’ve completed two signings for the next season,’ he told the media.

‘One is a midfielder, the other one is a centre back. But I’m not allowed to mention their names.’

LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 22: Andreas Christensen of Chelsea FC applauds the fans after the UEFA Champions League Round Of Sixteen Leg One match between Chelsea FC and Lille OSC at Stamford Bridge on February 22, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Chloe Knott – Danehouse/Getty Images)

It is widely accepted that the defender, in this case, is Christensen. Meanwhile, there has been no progress on Antonio Rudiger’s future, another whose contract at Stamford Bridge ends this summer.

For Chelsea, it could not have come at a worse time. However, Azpilicueta staying is good news for the Blues.

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Premier League table

#	Team	MP	D	P
1	Manchester City	29	50	70
2	Liverpool FC	29	55	69
3	Chelsea FC	28	38	59
4	Arsenal FC	28	13	54
5	Tottenham Hotspur	29	11	51
6	Manchester United	29	8	50
7	West Ham United	30	10	48
8	Wolverhampton Wanderers	30	5	46
9	Aston Villa	29	1	36
10	Leicester City	27	-4	36
11	Southampton FC	29	-9	35
12	Crystal Palace	29	1	34
13	Brighton & Hove Albion	29	-10	33
14	Newcastle United	29	-17	31
15	Brentford FC	30	-14	30
16	Leeds United	30	-33	29
17	Everton FC	27	-18	25
18	Watford FC	29	-26	22
19	Burnley FC	27	-16	21
20	Norwich City	29	-45	17

Player	Team	Goals
Salah, Mohamed	Liverpool FC	20
Son, Heung Min	Tottenham Hotspur	13
Jota, Diogo	Liverpool FC	13
Kane, Harry	Tottenham Hotspur	12
Ronaldo, Cristiano	Manchester United	12
Mane, Sadio	Liverpool FC	12
Toney, Ivan	Brentford FC	11
Mahrez, Riyad	Manchester City	10
Vardy, Jamie	Leicester City	10
Sterling, Raheem	Manchester City	10
Fernandes, Bruno	Manchester United	9
Dennis, Emmanuel	Watford FC	9
Saka, Bukayo	Arsenal FC	9
De Bruyne, Kevin	Manchester City	9
Raphinha	Leeds United	9
Smith-Rowe, Emile	Arsenal FC	9
Zaha, Wilfried	Crystal Palace	9
Bowen, Jarrod	West Ham United	8
Mount, Mason	Chelsea FC	8
Antonio, Michail	West Ham United	8

Player	Team	Red Cards	Yellow Cards
Neves, Ruben	Wolverhampton Wanderers	0	9
Mings, Tyrone	Aston Villa	0	9
Firpo, Junior	Leeds United	0	9
Salisu, Mohammed	Southampton FC	0	8
Dennis, Emmanuel	Watford FC	0	7
Gallagher, Conor	Crystal Palace	0	8
Moreno, Rodrigo	Leeds United	0	8
Cash, Matty	Aston Villa	0	8
Tarkowski, James	Burnley FC	0	8
Romeu, Oriol	Southampton FC	0	8
Brownhill, Josh	Burnley FC	0	8
Mctominay, Scott	Manchester United	0	8
Maguire, Harry	Manchester United	0	7
Romero, Cristian	Tottenham Hotspur	0	8
Bissouma, Yves	Brighton & Hove Albion	0	8
Fernandes, Bruno	Manchester United	0	7
Pogba, Paul	Manchester United	1	6
Jimenez, Raul	Wolverhampton Wanderers	0	5
McGinn, John	Aston Villa	0	7
Rice, Declan	West Ham United	0	7

Player	Team	Assists
Alexander-Arnold, Trent	Liverpool FC	11
Salah, Mohamed	Liverpool FC	10
Robertson, Andy	Liverpool FC	10
Pogba, Paul	Manchester United	9
Bowen, Jarrod	West Ham United	8
Mount, Mason	Chelsea FC	7
Lacazette, Alexandre	Arsenal FC	7
Barnes, Harvey	Leicester City	7
Jesus, Gabriel	Manchester City	7
Kane, Harry	Tottenham Hotspur	6
Fernandes, Bruno	Manchester United	6
Antonio, Michail	West Ham United	6
Benrahma, Said	West Ham United	6
James, Reece	Chelsea FC	6
Cancelo, Joao	Manchester City	6
Son, Heung Min	Tottenham Hotspur	5
Dennis, Emmanuel	Watford FC	5
Saka, Bukayo	Arsenal FC	5
Ings, Danny	Aston Villa	5
Henderson, Jordan	Liverpool FC	5