Chelsea must up offer for Rudiger as Man Utd lurk
Robin Bairner
- 5 Feb 2022 10:36 GMT
- 3 min read
Chelsea remain confident that centre-back Antonio Rudiger will commit his future to the club, despite the defender turning down a huge new contract offer.
Rudiger’s present deal expires in the summer, which means he is presently free to discuss terms with foreign clubs. Indeed, it has been reported that Real Madrid continue to hold a keen interest in the player, plus Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona and Bayern Munich have been linked with him too.
The Blues and the Germany international defender have been in repeated talks in recent weeks over a new deal but as yet nothing has been struck between the two parties.
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Indeed, the Daily Mail reports that Rudiger knocked back an initial offer of £130,000 per week from Chelsea and then subsequently turned down a £200,000-per-week offer from the Stamford Bridge club – double his current pay.
Nevertheless, Thomas Tuchel’s men are optimistic that the 28-year-old will remain with the club for next season and beyond.
Chelsea are still in active contact with Rudiger over an extension and there is a sense of willingness from the former Roma man to get a deal over the line.
Man Utd threat
If the Blues are to sign Rudiger, though, they will have to raise their offer. It is reported that Rudiger believes he could earn as much as £400,000 per week if he leaves the club on a Bosman move.
Manchester United have come into the picture as a surprising possible destination in the summer.
Ralf Rangnick is said to be a big fan of Rudiger, and with Harry Maguire in miserable form in the Man Utd defence, it would be little surprise to see the Red Devils try to reinforce that area of their team – even if it is not considered an essential move. Still, he would be relatively cheap in the circumstances.
With Andreas Christensen and Cesar Azpilicueta also out of contract at the end of the season, Chelsea must act to secure Rudiger else face a total rebuild at the back.
