Reports: Chelsea on the verge of finalising deal for world-class defender

What’s the story?

Reports appearing in the Express (via Sky Sports) indicate that Antonio Rudiger’s agent has arrived in London to finalise the mooted £34 million deal for the highly-rated German defender. After having Romelu Lukaku stolen under their noses, and seeing that there has been no fresh development in their move for Monaco’s Tiemoué Bakayoko, the Blues are desperate to finalise a signing quickly and dispel the negative air surrounding Stamford Bridge.

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 the door shut in the face of an onslaught laid on by the champions of South America – 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 currently has a contract that ought to keep him at the Serie A giants till 2020, but not if Chelsea have anything to say about it.

The heart of the matter

The big German has made 56 appearances for Roma and has steadily gained a number of fans for his calm, controlled presence in the heart of the Roman defence. He also possesses that most prized quality in the modern centre-back – the ability to pass out from the back.

With Chelsea looking desperately to strengthen their defence following the departures of Nathan Ake to Bournemouth and legend John Terry to Aston Villa. With the three-man defence that Antonio Conte favours, it is essential that the Blues have at least four-five high quality centre backs; with Gary Cahill, David Luiz, Cesar Azpilicueta, and Kurt Zouma already at the club, Rudiger could well be the addition that allows Conte to focus further up the field.

Video

The big man can defend:

Not too shabby, eh?

Author’s take

There is no doubt that Rudiger is one of the most promising centre-backs in the game at the moment and Chelsea would be well advised to snap him up right pronto. While he may not automatically make the starting XI, the gruelling challenge that awaits in the 2017-18 campaign (as the champions of England return to the Champions League) will ensure that he gets plenty of game time. Could just be a win-win for both parties.