Massive boost for Thomas Tuchel as German international Antonio Rudiger remains keen to stay on at Chelsea beyond the summer of 2022.
According to Italian journalist, Rudy Galetti on Twitter, Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger is keen to stay on at the club for the foreseeable future.
The German international has earned himself a new lease of life Under Thomas Tuchel and is one of the most important players in the Chelsea system. Rudiger’s contract expires in June 2022, and the Blues risk losing a key first-team player for free.
Rudiger is not short of options and has attracted attention from Juventus, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, while the likes of Tottenham, Barcelona are also among the clubs interested in the German international. It represents a remarkable turnaround for a player who looked to be on his way out just last summer.
Chelsea, for their part, are keen to keep the player, and thankfully for them, the player is also keen to stay put. At 28, he is in his prime and can be a mainstay for the Blues in the years to come.
Centre-back is a position that Tuchel will need to address in the coming transfer windows. Thiago Silva remains competent but is not getting any younger. The same holds for club captain Cesar Azpilicueta as well. This makes keeping Rudiger all the more important.
Discussions between the club and the player’s representatives in the last few days have been positive. There appears to be real optimism now that an agreement can be reached. Securing Rudiger’s future will enable Chelsea to focus on other potential incomings. It will at the very least be one less position for them to worry about.
The 28-year-old moved to Chelsea from AS Roma in 2017. He has since made 157 appearances for the Blues, scoring eight goals and assisting three more. Rudiger was named in the UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season for 2020/21 as the Londoners won their second European crown.
Chelsea have been defensively solid under Tuchel, and that appears unlikely to change in the years to come, at least as long as the German is in charge. Rudiger looks likely to stay put and would continue to be a critical part of that jigsaw. It is amazing just what a difference a year can make in football. Rudiger’s time at Chelsea looked over in the summer of 2020. Twelve months on, it would appear he is set to cement himself as one of the club’s top players.
