Antonio Rudiger refuses to commit to his future in the Chelsea shirt with the defender coy on his contract standoff at Stamford Bridge.
The Germany international’s current deal with the Blues camp is due to expire at the end of the season and Chelsea’s repeated attempts to tie him down to a new long-term contract have proved futile in recent months.
Rudiger is understood to be holding out for a major hike in his wages which has not gone down well with the Chelsea board who are aware of clubs circling around to land the Stamford Bridge contract rebel on a free transfer next summer.
La Liga giants Real Madrid are keeping close tabs on the central defender’s contract situation and are backed to touch base with Rudiger and his representatives in the hopes of reaching an agreement on pre-contract terms come January.
Speaking with Welt am Sonntag, Rudiger has revealed that his focus remains on giving his best out there on the pitch for Chelsea but refused to divulge further into his talks with the club over a new deal.
“For now I am only concentrating on what is happening right now. I owe that to the club, the coach and the team.”
Rudiger was then quizzed on a potential Bundesliga return and said: “I’m currently only focused on Chelsea. We’ll see what happens.”
