There’s some mixed Chelsea transfer news emerging on some of their key central defenders.
Unfortunately for Blues fans, it looks increasingly like Antonio Rudiger is set to depart Stamford Bridge for a move to Real Madrid after holding positive talks with the Spanish giants, according to the Guardian.
The Germany international has been a hugely important part of Thomas Tuchel’s side in the last year or so, producing some of his best form for Chelsea as they won the Champions League last season.
It seems, however, that the west London giants have been surprisingly reluctant to meet Rudiger’s demands of wages of £200,000 a week, which has opened the door for Madrid, according to the Guardian.
Only time will tell if CFC were right not to pay such huge money to Rudiger, but one imagines fans will be concerned by this move, as the club needs to be ready to pay big money in both transfer fees and wages if they are to remain competitive.
On a more positive note, the Guardian suggest there is reason for Chelsea to be hopeful over some of their other key defenders.
Despite a bit of a back and forth with Andreas Christensen, there is supposedly now confidence that the Denmark international will commit his future with a new deal.
The report adds that Thiago Silva could also extend his playing career after his superb form for Chelsea, while Cesar Azpilicueta should also end up signing a new contract despite interest from elsewhere.
Losing Rudiger will still be a blow, but if Chelsea can avoid losing all of these players at once they should still be in pretty solid shape for next season.