Antonio Rudiger is now just over a month away from being able to negotiate with teams outside the Premier League about a free transfer in the summer, and it’s becoming clear who the list of candidates are.
In his exclusive interview with TalkChelsea, Fabrizio Romano was asked about potential destinations – of course there are a few teams who will pay him what he wants, but there aren’t many who will pay him and be able to compete immediately for the top trophies like Chelsea can.
That makes picking a destination a little tricky for him, as Romano explains:
“I’m told that Real Madrid are going to look for free agents and Toni Rudiger is on their list. It’s not a negotiation yet with Rudiger’s agents, but they have his name on the list because they did a similar thing with David Alaba a year ago, and they know how important it is to sign key players as free agents in this kind of market. Bayern are looking for a new centre back if Niklas Sule leaves, and Rudiger is one of the names on their list. He’s German so it’s a perfect link too. But keep an eye also on PSG. Because PSG next summer will look for a new centre back, and Rudiger is big opportunity, so that could be one of the potential options for PSG, but at the moment it’s just clubs keeping tabs on the situation. They are informed on Rudiger’s situation with Chelsea, they’re not in advanced negotiations.”
Bayern Munich, if they’re willing to pay Rudiger, will surely be top of his list, given he’s German. They cruise to the Bundesliga every year and have a great chance in the Champions League, along with a top manager.
Real Madrid have more competition domestically and are at a lower level in Europe, but their prestige always makes them tempting for players.
Then there’s PSG. It rather depends on how Sergio Ramos gets on in the rest of this season, but if he continues to struggle for fitness it’s easy to see them deciding to move for Rudiger on a free transfer, and then perhaps selling one of their other options to free up funds to spend on other areas of the team.
Unfortunately for Chelsea, it looks like Rudiger is going to have a few good options this summer.
