Chelsea defender Cesar Azpilicueta has asked to leave the club this summer following a successful 11 years at Stamford Bridge.
Why does Azpilicueta want to leave?
508 appearances after arriving at Stamford Bridge from Marseille in 2012, Azpilicueta is ready to call time on his Chelsea career. The club captain has been a loyal servant to the Blues, but looks likely to be joining a host of other famous faces leaving the club this summer.
This is according to journalist Fabrizio Romano, who claims that Azpilicueta has told Chelsea personally of his desire to try something different.
The Italian said: "One more outgoing, I'm told that Cesar Azpilicueta has been very honest with Chelsea, he wants to try a new experience."
"It's true that Inter have an interest in Cesar Azpilicueta and are approaching Azpilicueta because they want to give him a chance in Italy, and Azpilicueta wants to try a new opportunity from what I understand."
"He loves Chelsea, he's super respectful with Chelsea. Chelsea have always been super respectful with Azpilicueta. One year ago, they tried their best to keep Azpilicueta and avoid his transfer to Barcelona. But now for Azpi, despite being out of contract in summer 2024, the priority is to go".
Romano adds that Inter Milan's links with Azpilicueta are "concrete" which is unsurprising given the Italian club's willingness to take experienced Premier League players on board. The fact that the 33-year-old is comfortable playing in a back five, a system Simone Inzaghi employs at San Siro, makes the transfer even more worthwhile for the Champions League finalists.
Given the prominence of Reece James at right-back, and the arrival of Malo Gusto from Lyon, Azpilicueta likely feels a move is necessary to maintain regular minutes, while also understandably fancying a change of scenery after over a decade in London.
There will be absolutely no bad blood between the Spaniard and the Blues, who have enjoyed a tremendous partnership. Azpilicueta won nine trophies during his time at Stamford Bridge, including the Champions League and two Premier League titles.
Who else is leaving Chelsea?
The short answer is almost everybody, with a plethora of top talents on the verge of leaving Stamford Bridge.
A number are making the move to Saudi Arabia this summer, with N'Golo Kante the only official departure so far as he joins up with Karim Benzema at Al-Ittihad. Teammates Kalidou Koulibaly, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Edouard Mendy, Hakim Ziyech and Callum Hudson-Odoi have all been linked with the Saudi Pro League.
Mateo Kovacic and Kai Havertz are on the verge of joining Manchester City and Arsenal respectively, while Mason Mount is attempting to close a deal that would take him to Manchester United.
Romelu Lukaku, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Conor Gallagher have also been touted with Stamford Bridge departures.