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Chelsea were defeated in the FA Cup final for the third time in a row. Thomas Tuchel’s wards were undone by Liverpool at the Wembley on Saturday on penalties, losing 6-5 after a goalless 120 minutes.
Meanwhile, Antonio Rudiger has opened up on his decision to leave Stamford Bridge this summer. Elsewhere, the Blues are interested in an Inter Milan attacker.
On that note, here's a look at the key Chelsea transfer stories as on 15 May 2022:
Antonio Rudiger opens up on decision to leave Stamford Bridge
Antonio Rudiger has opened up on his decision to leave Chelsea this summer. The German defender’s current deal expires at the end of the summer, and the Blues have failed to convince him to stay.
Speaking after the FA Cup final defeat on Saturday, Rudiger said that his decision was not impacted by the sanctions imposed on the club. He said:
“I don’t want to go into deep things. There was a chance, but sanctions was not the problem. It’s not only about one side; it’s about both sides. Chelsea have been great to me, and I have been great for Chelsea. I am very, very thankful."
He continued:
"Me, my family, I became a man here. My kids were born here and everything. London and especially Chelsea will always be special to me. It’s been five years with ups and downs ,as normal. There were a lot of positive things, but that’s why I’m even more frustrated because I wanted to have a different ending."
The German added:
“It’s a difficult one to take for myself. These are questions sometimes we don’t have an answer for. I don’t have an answer for it. It’s always difficult to say, whether we are lucky or unlucky. Personally, it’s the third time (losing an FA Cup final), so you can’t always say unlucky, unlucky, unlucky. At the end of the day, it’s about winning. It’s not about next season. The game was about today. It was there to take. Unfortunately, we didn’t."
Chelsea interested in Ivan Perisic
Chelsea are interested in the signature of Ivan Perisic, according to acclaimed transfer expert Fabrizio Romano.
The Croatian is in the final few months of his current contract with Inter Milan and is all set to leave the club for free this summer. The Blues are hoping to take the 33-year-old to Stamford Bridge ahead of the new season.
Manager Thomas Tuchel is looking to bolster his left wing-back position amid uncertainties over the futures of Marcos Alonso and Emerson Palmieri. Perisic could be an able backup for Ben Chilwell in that role, while he is also versatile enough to operate higher up the pitch. However, the London giants are yet to strike a deal with the player.
Cesar Azpilicueta tips Mason Mount to come back stronger after Wembley nightmare
Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta has tipped Mason Mount to bounce back from his Wembley nightmare on Saturday. The Englishman missed the Blues’ last penalty as Liverpool went on to win the FA Cup.
Speaking after the game, Azpilicueta, who also missed his spot kick, pointed out that Mount would have a lot of chances to get things right, saying:
“For me as well, I missed my penalty as well. It’s not just Mason; we are all together here. We had the list (of penalty takers), and we all feel confident, and we want to shoot. This time it happened. I’m sure Mason will have a lot of chancesl he’s a young player; I’m sure he will be okay. It’s part of football. Sometimes it’s true that it looks like it is, but of course we are the first ones who are hurt."
He continued:
"We want to do our best; we want to score the penalty and make our fans happy, but unfortunately it didn’t happen. We have to put our heads up and go for the next one. When we arrived to the penalty shootout, we tried to do the best we can. We were ready for it, but unfortunately, this time it didn’t happen again. It’s football; it is hard to take."
Mason Mount has lost his last six finals at Wembley - the 2019 Championship playoff final, the Euro 2020 final, the 2022 Carabao Cup final and the last three FA Cup finals.
