News broke this week that Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich had been sanctioned by the UK government as part of their attempts to crack down on wealthy Russians with assets within the country.
The 55-year-old, who purchased the club back in June 2003, announced last week that he was putting the club up for sale following Russia's invasion of Ukraine two weeks ago, with the net proceeds from the sale to be donated to "all victims of the war in Ukraine."
However, news that Abramovich — who said selling the club was in its "best interests" — has been sanctioned by the government means any sale of the club (estimated to worth between £2-3billion) has been blocked. With the owner's assets frozen, Chelsea can no longer sell tickets. Season ticket holders will only be allowed to attend matches for the foreseeable future, but the selling of any merchandise is prohibited.
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Furthermore, new contracts for players and staff have been banned, along with transfers. This is set to have a hugely detrimental impact on a number of key players with contracts expiring at the club.
One of those is defender Antonio Rudiger who was already widely expected to leave Stamford Bridge in the summer. According to Sky Sports, his representatives have stated that: “The club have had plenty of opportunities to try and tie him in down on a deal in the last six months before today’s developments [the sanctions].”
They also confirmed that Rudiger hadn’t ruled out staying in the Premier League, and it's understood that Manchester United would be interested in a move.
The defence has been a key talking point at Old Trafford this season, with Harry Maguire’s position coming under particular scrutiny. The club captain has struggled to match his Euro 2020 form in a United shirt this season.
Rudiger has the potential to be the upgrade United need, then, and his perceived availability in this coming summer window is an added bonus.
At a glance, he looks inferior to Maguire in some key areas, with the United man boasting both a better defensive duel (65.1 per cent) and aerial duel (73.9 per cent) success rate than the German international (66.3 per cent/64.8 per cent) this season. However numbers alone — particularly for defenders — don’t always paint the most accurate picture. This is because there’s often so much more to being a defender than just winning individual battles.
Rudiger is so highly-rated due for reasons beyond simple stats, displaying good recovery speed, positional awareness and standout ability with the ball at his feet. He's proven comfortable playing in a high line for Thomas Tuchel’s defence, who like to press high, and he can also be a key cog in the early phases of possession play for his side.
These areas are all weaknesses in Maguire’s game that few United fans would disagree with. The former Leicester man has shown on numerous occasions that he can struggle when attackers 'turn him round' and test his pace and in that regard he's looked a weak link in the United back line. Any opportunity to sign Rudiger — particularly on what would be a free transfer — should be grabbed with both hands.
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