Cesar Azpilicueta's departure to Atletico Madrid leaves Chelsea with a lack of leaders

When Cesar Azpilicueta arrived at Chelsea in 2012 he walked into a dressing room packed with iconic club figures.

‘When I came, I was lucky to have JT and Lamps and, even though they didn't wear the armband, Ashley, Didier, Petr,’ he once recalled.

Eleven years later, he will depart Stamford Bridge and return to his native Spain and Atletico Madrid having secured his own place in Chelsea folklore just like some of those illustrious names who first greeted him.

A full set of trophies won from the Carabao Cup to World Club Cup, multiple positions played and a rise that started with him learning from some of the best leaders around to becoming one himself and Chelsea captain.

At just £7m Azpilicueta has proved to be a snip of a signing and in the conversation for one of the best they have made, certainly based on value for money.

At one stage he would also have been in the discussion about the best defenders in the Premier League having shown his ability in a variety of roles.

He joined as a right back from Marseille, ended up taking the left-back place of one of the all-time greats in Ashley Cole and was then crucial as one of the central defenders in Antonio Conte’s successful back three, before eventually returning to more familiar territory.

A striker and right winger in his younger days, having then dropped back to become a defender perhaps Azpilicueta’s ability to shift around the pitch effortlessly should have come as no surprise.

And he performed to such effect during his Chelsea career that Jose Mourinho once said famously: ‘Azpilicueta is the kind of player I like a lot. I think a team with 11 Azpilicuetas would probably win the competition (Champions League) because football is not just about pure talent.’

He joined