Chelsea have been handed a huge boost as they look to keep hold of Antonio Rudiger, as his potential destination is 'struggling with wage demands'.
Rudiger has been one of Chelsea's best performers since Thomas Tuchel took charge in January 2021, but they face losing the star for free this summer. The German is out of contract at the end of the season, but is so far yet to re-sign a new deal at Stamford Bridge.
Due to a hesitance over his Chelsea future, clubs have been circling as they look to sign the defender on a free transfer at the end of the season. But one of his possible destinations are 'struggling with wages' as the Blues may have been given a lifeline.
Although Chelsea have been desperate to re-sign Rudiger, under their current sanctions they are unable to offer new deals to current stars, or even bring new talent in. But thankfully for them, one of the defender's likely destinations are reportedly struggling to meet his wage demands.
That's according to Italian newspaper Corriere Torino, who have claimed that Juventus are struggling to match Rudiger's demands. The report states that the Old Lady could still be £2.5million away from meeting the defender's required salary.
And that's before the negotiation of a signing on fee, which could amass an extra £2m as an incentive to encourage Rudiger to join forces at Juventus. The Italian side haven't been the only team interested, with Real Madrid and Bayern Munich also rumoured, but Juventus appears to be the most likely destination at this stage.
But that will come as good news to Chelsea, who may be in a better position to re-sign Rudiger should the club find a new owner within the coming weeks. Rudiger has been one of the Premier League's best defenders since Tuchel was appointed, and with Andreas Christensen and Cesar Azpilicueta set to leave, his departure would be a huge blow.
That doesn't mean that Rudiger hasn't come under any criticism, and he was highlighted for a crucial error during Chelsea's 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid, as the defender and Eduoard Mendy were sloppy and allowed Karim Benzema a tap-in on Wednesday. Chelsea have a mountain to climb in Madrid next week, but their job would have been easier if they hadn't taken their foot off the gas.
And player-turned-pundit Gabby Agbonlahor accused Rudiger for pulling out of a challenge to preserve himself for a summer move. "I know it was a bad pass on Mendy, but Rudiger’s tackle was someone who didn’t want to get injured, like he’s got a move ready, and he didn’t want to hurt himself," Agbonlahor said to TalkSPORT.
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He wasn't the only one that was shocked by Rudiger's lack of authority, as former Chelsea star Mario Melchiot expressed his views. "I can’t really say that, because he’s normally so tough, he does not care about that,"Melchiot responded to Agbonlahor.
"But the way he went in it, I agree with you, he could have gone tougher. And he went with his left foot instead of his right and normally if you make the tackle with your right, and you go all the way [you would win the ball].
"Everything was half, half ball, half challenge, and that’s why Benzema [scored]." Should this be Rudiger's final season at Chelsea, they'll be hoping to get their sanctions lifted as soon as possible, with their defensive issues potentially becoming problematic ahead of the summer.
