Former England international Glen Johnson has urged Chelsea to retain centre-back duo Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen beyond the next summer.
Both players are understood to be involved in a standoff with the Blues camp over renewing their terms which are due to expire at the end of the season and have made clubs across Europe keep close tabs.
While Rudiger remains a top target for the likes of Real Madrid and Bayer Munich, there has been the recent talk that FC Barcelona are weighing up a summer swoop for the Danish international Christensen.
The centre-back pairing have been unable to come to an agreement with the Chelsea board over signing new deals at Stamford Bridge which will make them an integral part of Tuchel’s plans going into the 2022-23 campaign.
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Ex-Chelsea and Liverpool defender Glen Johnson while speaking to Betting Odds reckons that the Blues would be in for a terrible decision on the business front to part ways with two of their established first-team names in Rudiger and Christensen.
“From a business standpoint, it would be a disaster (if both players left).”
“Whether the club wants them both there long term is irrelevant because to replace those two players you’re going to have to spend an absolute fortune.
“Even to give them both a year long deal with the intention of selling them after six months would make more sense than letting them walk out on a free.
“It would be terrible business regardless of whether the club fancies them as players or not.”
