Chelsea talisman to ignore European giant links as he ‘owes it’ to Tuchel
Chelsea star Antonio Rudiger says he will ignore interest from Bayern Munich and Real Madrid as he ‘owes it’ to Thomas Tuchel and the club.
The centre-back moved to Stamford Bridge in July 2017 for an initial £29million. He quickly became a regular in the first team but had fierce competition from the likes of Andreas Christensen, Kurt Zouma and David Luiz.
That was increased when Thiago Silva joined the Blues on a free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain in August last year.
But Rudiger put in some excellent performances last season as Tuchel’s men won the Champions League, beating Man City in the final.
He is forming a solid relationship with Christensen and Silva as part of a back three. They have helped Edouard Mendy to keep six clean sheets in ten Premier League games so far this campaign.
However, Rudiger is firmly in the final 12 months of his contract at Chelsea. It’s no surprise that European giants Bayern and Real are keeping tabs on the situation, alongside PSG.
Recent reports have suggested that Chelsea are growing ‘increasingly fearful’ that the German will walk away for nothing come June.
But they have been given a huge boost by his recent comments. While on international duty, Rudiger said (via Daily Mail): “For now I am only concentrating on what is happening right now. I owe that to the club, the coach and the team.”
On a potential return to the Bundesliga, he added: “I’m currently only focused on Chelsea. We’ll see what happens.”
Real believe they can prize Rudiger away from Chelsea in a similar way to David Alaba, who left Bayern on July 1 for free. Carlo Ancelotti certainly needs defensive recruits after the departures of Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane this summer.
Bayern, meanwhile, could be preparing to make Rudiger a replacement for Niklas Sule. The fellow Germany international is attracted by the idea of joining Newcastle’s exciting project.
Kylian Mbappe’s iconic moments for PSG, France and Monaco
Chelsea man in line for Barcelona move – report
Meanwhile, Sport Witness write that Marcos Alonso is a Barcelona fan and could join Xavi’s side in January.
The Catalan club want a new left-back to provide competition for Jordi Alba. Alonso is on their wish list, despite his past links with Real Madrid.
Alonso’s father made over 150 appearances for Barca between 1982 and 1987. His son holds a strong allegiance to the club because of this.
However, a deal will depend on Tuchel’s wishes. The tactician may see Alonso as being crucial to Chelsea’s ability to compete on all fronts this campaign.
READ MORE: Liverpool star among five England withdrawals as in-form midfielder called up
The post Chelsea talisman to ignore European giant links as he ‘owes it’ to Tuchel appeared first on TEAMtalk.