Chelsea full-back Cesar Azpilicueta has committed his immediate future to the Blues, signing a new three-year-deal at Stamford Bridge.

Happy to be here

The 27-year-old has been a staple in the side for many years, especially since switching from right to left-back in 2013, keeping legendary full-back Ashley Cole out of the side.

The Spaniard has won three major trophies since his move from Marseille in 2013, and after committing himself to the Blues until 2021 he shared his delight at signing a new deal.

"I’m really happy to have signed a new contract" Azpilicueta told chelseafc.com. "Since I arrived here my target was to progress as a player and win trophies."

He explained, "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."

The full-back admitted, "We’ve had some really good moments so far this season. From day one, we started working very hard."

He continued, "We have a new manager with new ideas and I’m really happy to be working with him," Azpilicueta concluded, "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."

A great challenge

Azpilicueta is set to make a 200th appearance for Chelsea on Wednesday, when Antonio Conte's side travel to the north to take on Sunderland.

Chelsea are in spectacular form as they look to make it ten consecutive league wins against the Black Cats, but Conte insisted that the Blues have to be on top of their game against David Moyes' side.

"It’s a great challenge for us and for our mentality," Conte told his pre-match press conference. "It’s important to give continuity.

"We all know Sunderland are at the bottom of the table," the Italian stated. "But if you look at the last five games you can see Sunderland are fifth in the table."

Conte concluded, "They took nine points and for this reason. It’s important to pay great attention, to be focused, and to be concentrated from the start of the game until the end."

Chelsea will take on Sunderland AFC at the Stadium of Light on Wednesday, December 14 with kick-off at 7:45pm GMT.