Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger may reportedly have settled on his next club for this summer.
The Germany international’s future has been up in the air for some time, with Thomas Tuchel confirming yesterday that he would be leaving Stamford Bridge at the end of his contract this summer.
Now Fabrizio Romano has provided a major update on Rudiger’s future, stating that the 29-year-old has a verbal agreement to join Real Madrid on a long-term deal.
See below for details, with Romano suggesting it’s not completely done yet, but that Rudiger looks like making Madrid his next move, with final details to be discussed soon…
Real Madrid have reached verbal agreement with Antonio Rüdiger. Contract not signed yet – but Real Madrid are now closing on Rüdiger deal on a free: here we go soon! ??? #RealMadrid
It’s gonna be a long-term deal. Final details to be discussed soon, before signing the contract. pic.twitter.com/Jn0uvP0UQa
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) April 25, 2022
This is a huge blow for Chelsea, though their fans will have been bracing themselves for this for some time.
Rudiger has been a terrific servant for the Blues and will be a tough player to replace, though the Telegraph have linked them with a top quality young player in the form of Sevilla centre-back Jules Kounde as someone who could take his place in Tuchel’s defence.
strengthten them with your best player and save them a lot of money, another mismanagement master stroke.
never fail to astonish