Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola fears losing one of the Blues’ senior defenders for free this summer
According to The Sun, former Chelsea striker Gianfranco Zola believes that the Blues may find themselves in a situation where only two out of their three senior defenders would stay beyond the summer, as the players in question are all out of contract at the end of the season.
Stamford Bridge could see a difficult situation arise in the summer, as first-choice defenders Antonio Rudiger, Cesar Azpilicueta, and Andreas Christensen are all into the final six months of their contract with Chelsea, and could leave for free when their deals are up at the end of the current campaign.
When asked who out of the three defenders Zola would pick to stay at the club before the start of next season, the Chelsea legend said that he did not want to sound disrespectful, but would eventually prefer to keep Christensen and one of the other two senior stars.
“Luckily, I am not Tuchel and it is very easy for me not to answer the question. I would maybe keep the young one and one other. It is not very respectful and I don’t want to sound disrespectful because they have given the club so much.”
Head coach Thomas Tuchel faces the prospect of losing not only his club captain at the end of the season but also two of his first-choice defenders if things stay the same. All three defenders, when fit, form the German’s preferred backline in a three-man system.
Hard choice for Tuchel
Zola admits that discovering a solution for this defensive crisis is one of the toughest challenges Tuchel will face in his time as head coach. Apart from contract negotiations, the German has also had to deal with his defenders being ruled out of action for lengthy periods of time this season due to injuries and Covid.
The former Chelsea striker said that he believes two of the three defenders will stay at the club at the end of the summer. We can only hope that Zola’s words ring true and the players go on to commit their futures to the Blues’ cause.
“You don’t want to lose players when they have been so good like Azpilicueta and Rudiger. At the same time you don’t want to lose a good prospect like Christensen. I think we will see two stay — but don’t ask me the names.
The second half of the season begins for Tuchel with the prospect of winning trophies early. Ther German has the Carabao Cup final and the FIFA Club World Cup awaiting him in February. However, the end of the season may be disastrous for the head coach if his three senior defenders prefer to leave the club rather than sign an extension.
It will be a hard blow for any Chelsea fan to take, seeing their reliable club captain depart after spending his best years with us. Azpilicueta has won almost everything available to him during his time at Stamford Bridge, most recently leading us to a Champions League trophy.
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Rudiger and Christensen meanwhile, are enjoying some of their best form at Chelsea this season. Rudiger is arguably the club’s best player this season and is in the prime years of his career, further exacerbating the need for the club to keep him on.
A major defensive reshuffle can be avoided if the club’s hierarchy convinces the three defenders to stay for a few more years at the club. Although the best-case scenario would be to have all three players stay, we can hope that Zola’s prediction of losing just one turns out to be the worst possible outcome.