Sports & Fitness

Chelsea sweating on future of Rudiger

German defender whose contract ends this season is still holding out on agreeing to a new one

Updated 5 years ago · Published on 27 Sep 2021 11:30AM

Chelsea sweating on future of Rudiger
Chelsea's Antonio Rudiger (R) celebrates scoring his team's third goal against Tottenham Hotspur on September 19, 2021. - AFP pic, September 27, 2021

THE future of Antonio Rudiger at Chelsea is still up in the air as the defender is no closer to agreeing to a new contract.

The German whose current contract ends at the end of this season, is still holding out for better wages.

Rudiger, 28, who has been a rock in the three-man backlines of manager Thomas Tuchel, seemingly wants parity in wages with other top earners at the club.

He is insisting he wants similar wages as Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner after having rejected a much improved offer of £140,000 (RM802,000)-per-week.

Rudiger, who has played a key role in Chelsea's success over the past four years, has received interest from a variety of clubs including Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid.

This has put Rudiger in a strong bargaining position as he can leave on a free at the end of the season.

Losing Rudiger is an unfathomable thought for Tuchel. Indeed, the manager recently reiterated he hopes a new contract can be agreed soon.

The grapevine has it that if there is no agreement between player and club, Rudiger may well be sold during the January transfer window as the club does not want him to leave for nothing.

It is believed Bayern have already made initial contact through Rudiger's agent but the good news is that Rudiger is bending towards remaining at Chelsea. - Agencies, September 27, 2021

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