Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel said he was “confident” about Antonio Rudiger’s situation when he spoke about the German defender after last night’s Carabao Cup semi-final win over Tottenham.
Tuchel didn’t confirm anything either way, but he sounded optimistic about Rudiger’s future, and this came not long after news yesterday that the former Roma man was increasingly open to signing a new contract and staying at Stamford Bridge.
See below as the reliable Christian Falk provided an update on Rudiger, saying he was now in more positive talks with the Blues and that he’d like to stay at the club despite previous disappointing talks…
TRUE? @ToniRuediger would like to stay at @ChelseaFC. After a first disappointing offer now Club and Player are in better talks @PSG_inside @realmadrid @FCBayern pic.twitter.com/rJFAqYhmOv
— Christian Falk (@cfbayern) January 12, 2022
Chelsea fans will surely be feeling a lot better about the situation, especially now that Tuchel seems to also be signalling that he’s optimistic about keeping this important player.
See below for Tuchel’s comments after Chelsea’s win over Spurs…
"We're confident – we have things to offer."
Thomas Tuchel insists #CFC are confident they can keep Antonio Rudiger at the club amid speculation he could leave Stamford Bridge when his current deal runs out at the end of the season…?pic.twitter.com/9dhsI0eCRo
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 13, 2022
This could mean disappointment for Manchester United, with former Red Devils ace Luke Chadwick recently telling CaughtOffside that the 28-year-old would be ideal for Ralf Rangnick’s side’s needs.
“Rudiger is the sort of defender United need at the moment,” Chadwick said. “He’s improved so much over the last 18 months in terms of his ball carrying, he’d add a lot to this United squad.
“A lot of football is built about relationships. If he has got a strong relationship with Rangnick then United would be silly not to pursue that. He’s shown this season that he’s one of the top central defenders in the Premier League, albeit playing three at the back as Thomas Tuchel does at Chelsea.