Constructing a dressing room with a stable team spirit and togetherness can be a tough balancing act for any manager to get right.
Ultimately you want your players to get along and if they’re close off the pitch then that’s even better, but you need to avoid a situation where they get too comfortable and can easily turn against you.
It’s still a good idea to get advice from your senior players about potential signings because they will have an idea of how they would fit in, and it looks like Antonio Rudiger is happy to do that for Chelsea:
TRUE? Agent Rudi is on a new mission! Alaba?Boateng?Süle? @ToniRuediger: „If @ChelseaFC were to decide on one of the three players as a transfer target, I would be available to answer any questions. I know Jérôme & Niklas very well and I’ve already had contact with David Alaba“ pic.twitter.com/9bJ19BuYpK
— Christian Falk (@cfbayern) February 17, 2021
The admission about Alaba is fascinating because there’s no doubt that he would be a huge signing for Chelsea, but Rudiger could also end up losing his place in the team if the Bayern man comes in to replace him.
A fan actually asked Christian Falk about this in the comments, and the response shows that Rudiger really is putting the team first and he’s aware he could end up convincing his replacement to join the club:
I asked Toni about this special constellation. His answer: „If I can help, then anytime. I don’t have the envy factor“ @ToniRuediger
— Christian Falk (@cfbayern) February 17, 2021
It does mean that Rudiger is exactly the type of character you want in your team so that is a good sign, but he may end up regretting this eventually if it does happen and he ends up on the bench regularly.
Always Blues. No matter what may come out way, Chelsea will remain a force!