Stamford Bridge side chase Stuttgart centre-back.
Chelsea are reportedly keeping an eye on young Stuttgart centre-back Antonio Rudiger, with the Daily Star stating that the 22-year-old could represent an ‘ideal’ potential replacement for veteran defender John Terry.
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The young defender has bounced back well after failing to make the grade at Borussia Dortmund, having spent three years in the Westfalenstadion side’s youth team set-up. He has matured into one of the most consistent performers in the Bundesliga.
Rudiger’s excellent displays for Stuttgart have led to a call-up to Joachim Low’s German national team set-up and, should Chelsea come calling, the Mercedes-Benz Arena side may struggle to keep hold of such a hot prospect.
Terry had an outstanding season this term, the 34-year-old playing every single minute of the West London side’s Premier League title-winning campaign, but clearly the Blues skipper is in the latter stages of his glittering career and, as such, Jose Mourinho would have to be considering a long-term replacement.
Young Frenchman Kurt Zouma had appeared to be the man for the job but the former Saint-Etienne man has looked far more accomplished when used in a defensive midfield spot, and, as such, Mourinho may have elected to scout for a young pretender.
The Daily Star claim a fee of as little as £8m could be enough to land Rudiger and that’s an outlay that will clearly be well within the reach of owner Roman Abramovich.
Though Chelsea have a number of young talents coming through, such as defenders Andreas Christensen and Tomáš Kalas, Mourinho hasn’t shown a great deal of faith in central defensive options coming through the Stamford Bridge ranks, and this could be the reason why the Portuguese boss would be tracking potential new additions.