AC Milan among three European giants targeting Chelsea centre-back Antonio Rudiger
According to the Italian outlet Il Corriere dello Sport (h/t Football.London), AC Milan are among the three European giants who are plotting a potential transfer for Chelsea centre-back Antonio Rudiger.
The German is now in the final six months of his Blues contract and could reach a pre-contract agreement with foreign clubs from this month onwards. There has been little to no progress in negotiations with Chelsea and the Blues are losing precious time in their efforts to reach common ground.
Juventus and Real Madrid are the two other clubs that are interested in signing the German to boost their defensive setup. However, he continues to be a key player for us in the backline and has consistently dropped solid performances regardless of his future being up in the air.
Tie him down at all costs!
The 28-year-old is arguably our best centre-back, and we cannot afford to lose him, especially for free. His influence extends to the midfield and even the final third from set-pieces, which goes to show how dependent we are on him.
Andreas Christensen is in a similar situation to the German international in terms of his contract. However, he has been phased out of the starting lineup by Thomas Tuchel to force him to sign a renewal. The boss has not done that with Rudiger showcasing how we cannot afford to take him out of the team.
Things would not be easy from here on, as the interested parties can engage in talks with him regarding a pre-contract. We have to find common ground with the centre-back as it would be for the benefit of all parties. The club and defender are mutually benefiting from each other, meaning we have to find some way to tie him down on a new deal.
Milan are slowly rediscovering their lost status as a European heavyweight, while Juve have seen a massive decline in recent years. Real are not the powerhouses they were a few seasons before, meaning we have the best sporting project compared to them currently. We have to use that to our advantage during negotiations for an extension and convince the Chelsea ace about pledging his future to us.
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We hope that the problem is resolved soon since this will always plague our minds even if we are enjoying a good spell at the club. There is no need to restructure the backline when it has fared well for us, so we should try to get the German superstar to extend his stay at Stamford Bridge.