OFFICIAL: Chelsea confirm signing of £34 million rated superstar

What’s the story

Chelsea FC have announced the signing of German central defender Antonio Rudiger today. The 24-year old has signed a five-year contract and will be handed the no.2 shirt. Rudiger spoke to the press at the time of the announcement-

‘It’s a great feeling because not every player has the opportunity to join a huge club like this. I am looking forward to meeting up with my new team-mates and I’m very proud to officially become a Chelsea player.’

Chelsea’s technical director Michael Emenalo also added:

‘We are pleased to be able to bring in a player of proven quality who adds to our defensive options. Antonio is still young but is experienced at club and international level and possesses all the requisite attributes to thrive in the Premier League. We have been aware of him for some time and we are confident he will fit in well with the squad.’

In case you didn’t know

Rudiger was a key member of the German team that lifted the FIFA Confederations Cup recently, where he helped Die Mannschaft keep a clean sheet against a rampant Chile. The tall, strong, defender started off his youth career with VfB Sperber Neukölln in 2000, aged just 7 years before moving through SV Tasmania Berlin, Neuköllner Sportfreunde 1907, Hertha Zehlendorf, before making the leap to bigger youth setups in Borussia Dortmund and VfB Stuttgart. It was at the latter club that he got his break playing for VfB Stuttgart II (the B team that plays in the third division) 22 times and then getting promoted to the senior team in 2012 aged just 19.

He played 66 times for the Bundesliga club before making the move to his current club Roma for a modest €4 million which rose the following year (as per the agreement between the two clubs) to €9.5 million the following year.

He has, of course, now become a Chelsea player

The heart of the matter

Antonio Conte now has sealed up any defensive worries as he has five high-quality centre-backs to call to ensure he can keep his favoured 3-man defensive system going throughout the season.

Which name would you get on the back of your @nikefootball Chelsea home shirt today? #WeAreThePride pic.twitter.com/WKmYxd2x0K

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) July 9, 2017

Gary Cahill, David Luiz, Cesar Azpilicueta, Kurt Zouma and Antonio Rudiger make a rather brilliant centre-back team.

Video

For those who haven’t seen the big German in action:

Not too bad, eh?

Author’s Take

Antonio Rudiger’s signing makes the utmost sense as Antonio Conte sews up any potential headaches in the defensive end of the field. This now leaves him and his hierarchy to concentrate on the pressing problems further up the field