There are just two months left of Chelsea's season and Antonio Rudiger remains set to see out his contract at the end of the season. The German international entered 2021/22 as one four Blues players whose deals were set to expire in June, alongside Thiago Silva, Cesar Azpilicueta and Andreas Christensen.
Thus far, only Thiago Silva has put in place an extension, in what has been a masterstroke given what has happened since. As a result of the special licence that Chelsea must operate under to continue their season following the sanctions placed upon Roman Abramovich, the club cannot offer any new contract or complete transfer among a range of other restrictions.
That of course exacerbates the prospect of losing Rudiger. While the parties had not been on the cusp of a deal, it's impossible to ignore the advantage interested parties may have gained in that moment. Despite a year of speculation, Rudiger has maintained plenty of professionalism at the club and retained the trust of Thomas Tuchel, playing more matches than anyone else in the squad. The 29-year-old has even spoken about his happiness in London.
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"I feel great here, I have always said it," Rudiger told The Athletic. "I think the way I play you can see that I’m happy here. But there are also other people who have to make decisions."
There seems little doubt, on some level, that Chelsea and the player would both like to see his time at the club extended. In August, the Blues made an offer in the region of £140,000 per week, but the former Roma star is understood to be hoping for a figure in excess of £200,000. Neverthless discussions restarted before Christmas with some hope an agreement could still be struck.
However, the Blues' current situation complicates matters and reports suggest Rudiger has pitched a £25 million signing on fee, and hopes of a basic wage of £5mil per year after tax. That latter point is said to favour one interested party in Juventus who could take advantage of impatriate tax benefits to help reach the defender's demands.
Reports in Germany suggest that Bayern Munich have been dissuaded due to the size of the investment they would have to make given his age profile, while any Manchester United interest would rely on a conversation with whoever takes on the role of head coach in the summer. Bild further suggests that Rudiger will wait until Chelsea's matches after Real Madrid in the hope there is more clarity over the future of Chelsea as a football club.
It remains to be seen whether the demands of the financial package are deemed too steep by the Blues' future custodians, but it is still a better value deal for Chelsea as they work with a known quantity with less risk of whether he will fit into a new group. If the club can get into a position to negotiate once again, with the likes Bayern dropping out of the race, it could reinvigorate their position in coming out with a favourable agreement too.
While uncertainty remains in the takeover process and the club remains sanctioned, any progress will be impossible. Though they may take heart in that Rudiger still has ambitions that he would like to fulfill at Chelsea, and for now, he stands in a better position to achieve them under Tuchel than with Manchester United.
Rudiger said in February : “Of course, I want to win the Premier League. We had never won this trophy (the Club World Cup) in Chelsea’s history before. I’m very delighted that we didn’t give up, that we did our thing. We tried everything and won. I just want to help, I just want to be important and lead by example. This is the main thing. We all showed character against Palmeiras. None of us gave up."
He added: “The Premier League is the toughest competition because Manchester City set a very high standard. We have to get to a point where we can go on a long marathon."
The Blues will have to show the same determination if they hope to keep hold of the central defender in a far from certain situation.
