Paul Merson has told Chelsea to meet Antonio Rudiger's 'money' demands after what the defender did in the first half of the London derby between Crystal Palace and the Blues.
Rudiger, 28, played in a back four at Selhurst Park as Thomas Tuchel had to get creative with his team selections for the clash with Patrick Vieira's side.
The likes of Christian Pulisic and Romelu Lukaku were amongst various other players who struggled to really make an impact in the first 45 minutes but one man who did over both halves was the defender in question.
This was because of what happened in the 11th minute as the maverick German tried one of his customary crazy moments with a venomous shot from a long way out.
A shot that was similar to the wonder goal David Luiz scored at Craven Cottage all those years ago.
Unlike that certain goal, Vicente Guaita made sure that history wasn't set to repeat itself in how similar the two moments could have been as the Spaniard saved remarkably to keep the scores at 0-0 in a battling first half.
Crystal Palace's number one between the sticks had to be substituted at the break as a result of making the save to prevent a wonder moment in south London for the 28-year-old.
Switching to a back four didn't aid his best style of play and as a result, the likes of Wilfred Zaha and Michael Olise nearly caught the whole back four out cold on numerous occasions in the first period.
Thankfully, none of the aforementioned attackers were able to make the World Champions pay in the first half but the scares continued in the second too which will concern manager Thomas Tuchel going into the Lille Champions League fixture in midweek.
Another concern for Tuchel comes in the form of the contractual deadlock still between the club and his star defender with Rudiger himself wanting to stay put if certain conditions were to be met.
"I feel great here, I have always said it. I think the way I play you can see that I’m happy here," the German told The Athletic.
"But there are also other people who have to make decisions."
His attacking abilities from the back as shown in the first half in south London has prompted Merson to say something that the majority of the west London faithful will agree with.
When reporting on that nearly wonder goal on Gillette Soccer Saturday's coverage of the 3pm kick-offs, the former Arsenal man sent Marina Granovskaia and co a four-word message regarding a potential new contract.
He simply said: "Give him the money."
A demand that will delight the Chelsea fans but it's now in Granovskaia's hands to meet the new demands that have increased recently.
football.london understands that a figure in the region of £250,000-a-week will satisfy Rudiger's representatives as they continue to weigh up all options ahead of the summer.
Hakim Ziyech and Rudiger were to heroes at the end of the day for the Blues as Tuchel will now want both to stay past the season after what both showcased in the tight 1-0 away victories over the Eagles,
