Spain international defender Cesar Azpilicueta has said he is delighted to have signed a new three-and-a-half year deal with Premier League leaders Chelsea.
Azpilicueta, 27, signed from French side Marseille in 2012 and was a pivotal member of the team that won the 2015 league title.
In the current season under Antonio Conte, he has been an ever present as Chelsea stormed to the top of the table with a run of nine wins.
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Azpilicueta’s new contract, which he signed on Tuesday, will tie him to Chelsea till 2020.
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“I’m really happy to have signed a new contract,” he told the club’s official website.
“Since I arrived here my target was to progress as a player and win trophies.
“This new contract gives me the chance to continue my relationship with the club, that’s what I wanted and obviously I’m really happy here.
“We’ve had some really good moments so far this season. From day one, we started working very hard. We have a new manager with new ideas and I’m really happy to be working with him.
“Obviously we can still improve but the long-term aim for us is to win trophies, that is what we all want, the players, manager and fans.”
Azpilicueta, who was named Chelsea’s Players’ Player of the Year for the 2013/14 season, looks set to begin his new deal with his 200th appearance for the club in Wednesday’s Premier League match with bottom side Sunderland.
Meanwhile, Chelsea are yet to open talks over a possible contract extension for club captain John Terry whose current deal expires at the end of the season.
Speculation over Terry’s future overshadowed last season at Chelsea as his contract entered its final months before he signed a one-year extension and British media reported that he is unlikely to be offered a new deal this time.
“John is our captain and I think he is doing a great job when he plays. Now he is not playing but he is helping me a lot in the changing room to send the right message to the players,” Conte said in the pre-match press conference for Chelsea’s match with Sunderland.
“I hope to have him available to play, but it’s also important to have him in this role ... John loves this club. I think it is important now to be focused on the moment and not think about the future.”
* Agence France-Presse
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