Atletico Madrid are reportedly on the brink of hijacking Inter Milan's proposed move for Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta.
The Spaniard is still under contract at Stamford Bridge for another season but has apparently been given the green light to move elsewhere for the 2023-24 campaign.
Azpilicueta snubbed interest from Barcelona last year to renew his Chelsea contract, and while the Blaugrana are searching for new right-backs this summer, they have seemingly decided against reigniting their interest in the 33-year-old.
Instead, Inter were expected to bring Azpilicueta to San Siro, having apparently agreed personal terms with the former Marseille man, who will be allowed to depart Chelsea for free this summer.
However, the Nerazzurri have now been presented with an unexpected obstacle, as 90min claims that Atletico are now in a strong position to beat their Italian counterparts to his signature.
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The report adds that Azpilicueta and his family are pining for a return to Spain, 13 years after the defender departed Osasuna to sign for Ligue 1 giants Marseille.
As a result, Diego Simeone's side have stolen a march on Inter in negotiations and are now regarded as the favourites to secure Azpilicueta's services for the 2023-24 season.
The Spain international will reinforce the Rojiblancos' backline following the exit of Matt Doherty on a free transfer, while providing competition for Argentina World Cup winner Nahuel Molina.
Chelsea and Azpilicueta are yet to come to an agreement over a contract termination, but talks are expected to progress smoothly as the defender bids an emotional farewell to the Blues after a glittering 11-year spell.
Since joining in a £7.6m move from Marseille in 2012, Azpilicueta has pulled on the Chelsea shirt 508 times in all competitions, the sixth-most in the club's history and more than any other non-English player.
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The Spaniard has come up with 17 goals and 56 assists for the Blues in that time, winning the Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup, Europa League, Club World Cup, EFL Cup and UEFA Super Cup.
Azpilicueta remained an integral performer for Chelsea last term with 32 appearances in all tournaments, but he only started 16 Premier League games amid competition from Reece James and Trevoh Chalobah.
The return of Malo Gusto from his Lyon loan would have restricted Azpilicueta's minutes further, and the Spaniard is set to follow several other notable names out of the door as part of Chelsea's mass exodus.
Earlier on Friday, Ruben Loftus-Cheek's move to AC Milan was confirmed, while Edouard Mendy, Mateo Kovacic, Kai Havertz, N'Golo Kante and Tiemoue Bakayoko have also departed.
Mason Mount is also on the verge of a move to Manchester United, while Hakim Ziyech, Conor Gallagher, Christian Pulisic and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang could all head for the exit door in the coming weeks, but the former's proposed move to Al-Nassr is apparently in jeopardy due to issues that cropped up during his medical.
