Manchester United & Chelsea On Alert As Bundesliga Side Confirm Wonderkid Likely to Leave

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The talented German defender will be on the move before long, according to his manager.

Transfer rumours surrounding Stuttgart’s breakthrough talent Antonio Rudiger seem to have been proved correct, as the club’s manager has admitted it will be hard to hold on to the defender.

Sky Sports reported a conversation between Stuttgart manager Armin Veh and German paper Sports-BILD, in which the German coach said: “Antonio is under contract until 2017 with our club. The thing is, how much longer can we keep hold of such a player?”

Now that he seems to have accepted that the German talent will be on his way in the summer, if not sooner, Veh seems determined to talk the player up in order to maximise his value:

“[Rudiger] is willing to learn, has power and self-confidence and the willpower to succeed.”

Rumours initially linked the player with West Ham, but as his excellent form has continued, he has been linked with bigger and bigger clubs, most recently Manchester United and Chelsea. Veh seemed to confirm the rumours that some of these giants were after his player:

“I understand that big clubs are chasing him. But a move will only be considered for Antonio if he joins a really big outfit. Otherwise, it would be better for him to stay at our club.”

Last season was Rudiger’s first full campaign in the Bundesliga, and he did well, but it is his outstanding performances in the early months of this season which have attracted the big names. They won’t have been impressed by his last game, however, in which the defender was dragged off at half time with his team 3-0 down.

Rudiger has four Germany caps and played his first competitive game in the 2-0 loss to Poland earlier this month, thereby forgoing his right to play for Sierra Leone, his mother’s country of origin.

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