Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger did everything to get regular playing time by searching for a club, but he failed to join one. The defender still remains one of the Blues until the winter transfer window. Germany national team coach, Joachim Low has revealed that the 27 years old player had several offers on the table before the summer transfer window closed on Monday.
Rudiger was convinced to get regular minutes under the coach, Frank Lampard in Chelsea but has gradually fallen down the pecking order. The center-back moved from Roma to Stamford Bridge in the year of 2017 but currently, it seems that Lampard doesn’t count on him to play any crucial role in this season.
To make things worse for Rudiger, the new arrival of veteran defender of Brazil, Thiago Silva has increased severe competitions in his position as youngster Fikayo Tomori is competition already with him. The 36-year-old Thiago Silva has lots of cup and experience under his belt and captaining PSG as they reached the Champions League Final will undoubtedly move him ahead.
It is of no doubt that Silva will play matches week in and week out and Tomori is in back up. Further, there is Christensen and Zouma who could cover the places as well.
Joachim Low was naturally very concerned for the lack of playing time Rudiger will get but expects some minutes will be afforded to him before he ultimately tries to secure a move outside Stamford Bridge.
The Germany coach has also kept an eye on things the last few days and all the stuff revolving on the last day of the transfer window before it got shut. He is positive about Rudiger as he says that 11 players won’t be able to win competitions for Chelsea. A lot more players are needed as well. A team with a squad depth as good as Chelsea can run until the last hour of the season if and only if the coach rotates his players efficiently.
The offers Rudiger had more several clubs weren’t false at all as the coach of Germany himself confirmed at a press conference. He admitted that he was in direct contact with Toni Rudiger the whole time as kept him in the loop.
Tottenham, Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona, AS Roma, and AC Milan were all tipped to sign the center-back but Chelsea couldn’t reach an agreement with any of the clubs.
Many news reports although claimed that Tottenham boss, Jose Mourinho himself had a telephonic conversation with the German and Rudiger found the option to join Mourinho attractive. However, due to the rivalry between Jose and Lampard, he backed off to sign a loan deal. Rather he demanded a straight purchase.
As nothing materialized, he would look up to the winter transfer season to make his move away from this club in search of minutes. He has his eyes set on the upcoming Euros and he wants to be the part of Joachim Low’s squad. As per reports, he is already doing his best to maintain his shape and fitness.
Rudiger is a talented defender who can give excellent performances even if he is without any practice for a few weeks before any match. He already has the trust of his national team’s coach who is impressed with his development over the past four-five years. The only problem is with his inconsistency. He sometimes goes through a patch of inconsistent performances that make him go down the pecking order always.
Apart from that, the Italian center-back is a great athlete with dynamic abilities. He can pass the ball swiftly and wins tough duels in the air. He will wish that the international manager’s faith will give him a spot in the starting line-up in the friendly match against Turkey before their match against Ukraine and Switzerland in the UEFA Nations League.
