With a few recent words spoken into the microphones of Sky Sports Italia, AS Roma center back Antonio Rüdiger has rubbished the long-standing rumors of a potential move to Chelsea Football Club.
“I can only say that Conte is a great coach, but I chose to stay in Rome. We are competing on three fronts and we have to win a trophy. [...] I am as obsessed with winning as [head coach Luciano] Spalletti.”
-Antonio Rüdiger; source: Sky Sports Italia via Calciomercato
Rüdiger had been linked with Chelsea for the past two summers, if not longer, and by all accounts had come very close to joining the Blues six months ago before an untimely knee injury picked up on international duty with Germany put him out of commission for the first three months of the season.
Since his return, the 23-year-old center back, who’s also capable of playing full-back has been a constant presence in Spalletti’s starting lineups.
Meanwhile, fellow Roma center back Kostas Manolas, who’s also been at times linked with Chelsea, is close to completing a move to Inter Milan. According to sources in Greece — Greece! We don’t often get to talk about sources in Greece! — Manolas is set to become the most expensive Greek player of all time with Inter ready to pay over €40m for him. Whoa!