Thiago Silva wants 'spectacular' Chelsea star to stay amid Barcelona transfer links

Thiago Silva has stressed the importance of ‘spectacular footballer’ Cesar Azpilicueta to Chelsea as Barcelona consider poaching the defender.

Azpilicueta has made more than 450 appearances for the Blues since signing from Marseille ten years ago, winning every major trophy available to him during his spell at Stamford Bridge.

Despite his influence and popularity in west London, Azpilicueta has been heavily linked with a move away from Chelsea as he enters the final few months of his contract with the club.

Chelsea were hoping to tie down Azpilicueta to a new deal but sanctions to club owner Roman Abramovich has put talks on hold, with the Blues also having to suspend discussions with Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen.

Brazilian defender Silva, who joined Chelsea in 2020, clearly wants Azpilicueta to stay at Stamford Bridge and has stressed the importance of the Spaniard both as a key player in the squad and as club captain.

‘Cesar Azpilicueta, since I arrived, was one of my main sources of support,’ Silva told Mundo Deportivo.

‘There are players who have what it takes to be captain and he is one of them. He is a player who seeks union, who tries to help others.

‘He is a spectacular footballer and a super-professional who, with certainty, deserves to be where is. Azpilicueta has beastly conditions.’

With Chelsea unable to make any progress in contract negotiations, La Liga giants Barcelona are hoping to take advantage of the situation by agreeing a deal with Azpilicueta.

Azpilicueta, meanwhile, admits he could ‘never have imagined’ what he would go on to achieve at Chelsea when he arrived through the doors at Stamford Bridge in 2012.

‘This is my tenth season here,’ the Blues hero said in the same interview. ‘When I