“Just give him the money” – Former Chelsea midfielder tells club to pay departing centre back

One of the top Chelsea transfer stories at the moment is to do with Antonio Rudiger and his contract situation.

After establishing himself as a top defender in Europe over the last 12 months, the German is coming to the end of his current deal, and as it stands will leave on a free transfer this summer.

The Metro have some quotes from former Chelsea midfielder player Emmanuel Petit, who points out how disappointing it would be to see the defender walk away:

“If he leaves, it would be a real pity for Chelsea,’ Petit said.

“If I remember correctly before [Thomas] Tuchel came in he was on the bench and wasn’t playing. Now he looks like one of the best defenders around.

“He could leave on a free and Chelsea would have to spend a minimum of £30m to find a new defender of his level, and there’s never a guarantee a buy will work out.

“If he asks for two more years, just give him the money,” the former France star concluded.

It certainly wouldn’t make much sense to let Rudiger go, on the basis that he’s too expensive, only to pay tens of millions of Euros for a replacement. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that – the current arrangement is working out well for him and for Chelsea, and hopefully a compromise can be found.

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