Chelsea looking to reward Antonio Rudiger with new contract as well — report

Antonio Rudiger has joined the long and growing list of Chelsea players in line for or in the process of renewing their Chelsea contracts. That’s according to the Daily Mail, who claim that Chelsea are “set to hand” the 25-year-old a new contract less than a year and a half into the original deal he signed back in 2017.

The new deal, which presumably would come with a bump in pay commensurate with Rudiger’s importance to the club since arriving, is set to be hashed out over the coming days, weeks, months — the report does not put a specific timeline on the negotiations.

While Rudiger’s contract is important, it’s probably not the highest priority item on the Board’s to-do list. Hazard’s contract, with less than two years to go on it, should be at the very top, followed closely by Kante’s (2.5 years left) and Azpilicueta’s (1.5 years left). Chelsea will also soon have to decide what to do with Willian (who also has 1.5 years left), and whether to offer new one-year deals to David Luiz, Olivier Giroud, Cesc Fabregas, or Gary Cahill, all of whom will be out of contract at the end of the season (and all of whom are over 30).

Lots to do, but if we can fit in a reward for Rudiger, the beating heart of this Chelsea team, I ain’t gonna be mad.