Thomas Tuchel has issued a backing to his star centre-back Antonio Rudiger who is yet to put pen to paper on a new deal at Stamford Bridge by saying that the player enjoys his full support should he choose to extend his stay in the Blues shirt.
Speaking to the club’s official website ahead of Chelsea playing Leicester City on Tuesday evening in Premier League action, Tuchel rallied behind Rudiger who has been an influential figure in the backline since Tuchel was appointed to the top job earlier this year.
‘If Toni wants to stay at the club then he has our full support,’ said Tuchel.
Nothing is better than what is doing for a new contract. He is speaking with his performances and has been amazing.
‘He is very brave and full of energy in his defending. He is leading by example and has a very positive aggressivity in him. This is what we like. When he can channel all this into top performances, we are all very happy to have him.’
There had been the previous speculation over Rudiger being close to joining Chelsea’s arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur with the Germany international not seeing much of the first-team action when Frank Lampard was in charge of the west London giants.
However, since Tuchel’s hiring the new boss has made Ruidger an integral part of his plans at the Bridge and the centre-back has repaid the faith shown in him by displaying a great set of displays in the now three-man defence utilised by Tuchel.
