Chelsea submit official bid for Antonio Rudiger, agreement ‘really close’ — report

Well, that escalated quickly.

In about six hours we’ve gone from the first stray reports of Chelsea being interested (again) in AS Roma center back Antonio Rudiger, to Chelsea being “in talks” with the 24-year-old’s representatives, to now an official bid having been submitted and apparently very close to being accepted and everything getting agreed.

The sourcing is rather Sky Italia heavy, so temper your excitement, if you have any to begin with.

Mangiante is not someone we’re too familiar with around here, but we are fairly confident he’s some ways above being just another Tancredi or another Giulianelli.

Does that mean Rudiger to Chelsea is happening? Maybe?

Tough to tell, obviously, but quite a few of Chelsea’s recent signings have basically come out of the blue in a similar fashion. Weeks and weeks of random rumors and then BOOM, a signing out of nowhere. Not always. Some transfers are long, drawn-out pursuits. Others, like David Luiz most recently, seemingly happen in the space of 12 hours.

On the plus side, we’ll find out soon enough if any of this is real then.