Chelsea skipper Cesar Azpilicueta was linked with a move to Barcelona during the summer transfer window, but ended up staying at Chelsea.

The Spain international has hailed the confidence and attitude of some of the young Barcelona players who made the trip to Qatar, most especially Gavi.

Speaking in an interview with The Guardian, Azpilicueta admitted Gavi had a kind of confidence that’s not evident with players at such a young age.

Azpilicueta said: “I shared a dressing room with the generation that won two Euros and a World Cup, learned from them. There’s a transition now and hopefully, this can be the place we’re champions again.

“This is a new generation. There are times you help but the kids now have such confidence.

“Take Gavi’s debut. They were telling me: ‘Keep him calm.’ What do you mean, ‘Keep him calm’? Normally you have to get them going, push them. Not him: there he was kicking people. I was like: there’s no way I could have done that at 17.”