Antonio Rudiger determined to win back his place in Frank Lampard’s Chelsea. He is set to remain at the Stamford Bridge after turning down several offers from various clubs.
The German defender moved to Chelsea from Roma at a £29 million transfer in the year of 2017. Since then, he has featured in 116 games for Chelsea in all competitions and netted six goals in total.
But he fell down the pecking order in this season and is yet to feature under coach Lampard. The arrival of Brazilian Thiago Silva from Paris Saint Germain this summer has made the situation even more difficult for Rudiger.
The 27-year-old was heavily linked with top clubs like PSG, Inter Milan, and Tottenham until the very end of the summer transfer window. But no deal materialized and Rudiger failed to take the exit door from Stamford Bridge. Jose Mourinho almost signed him in a loan deal but the player refused to join as a loanee.
The German centre-back has now expressed about breaking into the first team after rejecting two opportunities in search of game time.
As per The Athletic reports, he said: “The club didn’t tell me that it was absolutely necessary for me to find a new club and that they definitely didn’t have me in their plans for the next few months.
“I also turned down one or two options myself. I wasn’t prepared to pack it all in simply because I had been left out a few times. I enjoy living in London and like being at Chelsea.”
“Naturally, I looked at a couple of options in the two weeks before the end of the transfer window. There was a possibility of a loan deal, in order for me to get more game time. Due to many different reasons and the shortage of time, nothing materialised in the end.”
The defender is currently away serving his international duties with Germany where he managed to play a full game. Germany and Switzerland drew 3-3 in the Nations League where Rudiger produced some important interceptions and tackles.
He will aim to return to the starting XI as he has targeted to feature in the upcoming 2021 Euros. This can be in turn good for the Blues as naturally competition will increase and increased competition will improve the team.
