Chelsea dressing room ‘bewildered’ by Marina Granovskaia’s handling of contract situation

Tuchel's damning assessment of Chelsea's draw at Zenit

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Chelsea’s handling of Cesar Azpiliceuta’s current contract situation has left some quarters of the dressing room ‘bewildered’, according to reports. The Blues skipper, who has been Chelsea’s Mr. Dependable ever since he signed from Marseille way back in August 2012, is still yet to pen a contract extension with his current deal due to expire at the end of the campaign.

There is now unrest as to whether the deal will get agreed as Chelsea continue to adopt a relaxed approach to a number of contract extensions.

As many as four key first-team players are out of contract at the end of the campaign, meaning Thomas Tuchel could be forced into a defensive restructure.

Antonio Rudiger looks set to depart with Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Manchester City all said to be keen on his services.

Chelsea and their defender remain some distance apart during contract negotiations with the Blues unwilling to raise their current offer of around £140,000-per-week.

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Andreas Christensen is also attracting interest from Barcelona and AC Milan with the Dane also yet to sign on the dotted line.

Thiago Silva signed a one-year contract extension in the summer and he could repeat the move later in the season but for now, he will be a free agent come next June.

Eurosport claims the Chelsea squad have been surprised by the club’s approach to contract negotiations, particularly when Azpilicueta is concerned.

He is the club’s captain and leader yet the board appear to be in no hurry to tie him down to a new deal.

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Barcelona boss Xavi is reportedly keen in recruiting Azpiliceuta as he looks to add some much-needed quality to his ranks, as well as a winning mentality.

Any formal offer could put Azpilicueta in a position if Chelsea fail to resolve the situation quickly.

“For me, he is a big competitor and he is exactly the right spot. He is in the most competitive league and at a club where winning matters, so let’s be a bit patient and hopefully we have a happy ending.” he said.

Tuchel would ideally like to keep all four of his defenders at the club beyond this season.

He has reaped the rewards of promoting Trevoh Chalobah to the first team though, who has impressed this season at the back despite his recent injury.

Chelsea could also return for Jules Kounde though after failing with a bid of £42.5million for the Sevilla man earlier this summer.

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Yet for all his quality, the Blues will struggle to replace Azpilicueta if he does depart the club.

The Spaniard urged his team-mates to stand up and be counted yesterday after the 3-3 draw at Zenit St Petersburg.

“We have to have a reaction. We know there is still a lot to play for but we lost top spot in the Premier League and top spot in our Champions League group,” he said.

“We have to start building our confidence because at the moment it’s true, we’re making a lot of mistakes.

“So we have to face the reality and analyse ourselves. We are not at our top level and we have to have a reaction.

“We have to start building our confidence because at the moment it’s true, we’re making a lot of mistakes.”

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