Reports: Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho wants to sign Cesar Azpilicueta
Chelsea sacked Jose Mourinho last December after the Blues endured a poor first half of the 2015-16 season under his guidance. Guus Hiddink took charge as an interim manager before the west London club appointed Italy manager Antonio Conte as their new manager for the upcoming season.
Conte is currently on international duty with Italy for the ongoing UEFA Euro 2016 in France and will take the role at Stamford Bridge after the Euro 2016. Meanwhile, Manchester United have parted ways with Louis van Gaal and replaced the Dutchman with Mourinho.
The summer transfer window will see a player being linked with another club of the same league and that seems pretty common in modern football. Here, the two clubs that are mentioned are Chelsea and United, while the player is the Blues star Cesar Azpilicueta.
Spanish publication AS claims incoming Chelsea boss Conte is willing to offload the Spain international in the summer transfer window. The Italian manager is looking for a fee around €15m (£11.8m) for the versatile defender and should any club match their asking price, he will be allowed to leave Stamford Bridge.
Azpilicueta's preferred position is on the right side of the back four, but can also play as a left full-back. In Mourinho's second season at Chelsea (of his second spell), the Portuguese tactician fielded the defender in the left-back position. He even pipped Ashley Cole and Filipe Luis for that position and went on to excel.
The former Real Madrid manager is targeting to bring the player to his new club as the defender has played under him at Chelsea and is fully aware of his training methodology.
A move to United could be on the cards and should he make a switch to Old Trafford, he is likely to take the place of Matteo Darmian in the right-back position. The Italian international, who joined the Premier League giants from Torino last summer could be heading back to his homeland.
The Express reports that Serie A champions Juventus are keen on bringing back Darmian to Italy. Should they land him, United will need reinforcements in that position and Mourinho has turned the attention to his former player.
However, United could face competition from La Liga side Athletic Bilbao and Ligue 1 winners Paris Saint-Germain in their efforts to sign Azpilicueta, claims AS.