Nothing has changed with regards to Antonio Rüdiger’s situation at Chelsea, as the 28-year-old is still set to at least test the market in January and see what sort of offers he can received from the likes of — (ed.note: deep breath) — Barcelona, PSG, Juventus, Atlético Madrid, Manchester City, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and of course Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, who are said to be the leading candidates for his signature.
According to AS, Rüdiger is excited by the possibility of playing under Carlo Ancelotti, and while Bayern are also in the picture, they are not pushing as hard. Both the clubs are confident of being able (and willing) to meet Rüdiger’s £10m (€12m) annual net salary demands as well as pay a hefty signing-on bonus.
No talks in last month between Antonio Rudiger's camp & Chelsea over a new contract. Rudiger 100% committed, and wants to assess ALL options. New Chelsea deal still possible - but Rudiger can sign pre-contract in January. Real Madrid, Bayern & PSG interested. #Rudiger #CFC
— Dharmesh Sheth (@skysports_sheth) November 8, 2021
There is one new name on the scene as well, with surprising rumors from Corriere dello Sport and Gazzetta dello Sport (via Team Talk) claiming that José Mourinho is pushing AS Roma to make a play for their former defender — though it seems quite unlikely that they would be able to meet Toni’s sporting and financial ambitions.
(Roma are also seemingly interested in Ruben Loftus-Cheek, but that move would be even more of a nonsensical pipe dream)
#Mourinho, a gennaio sarà rivoluzione #Roma: decisa la strategia https://t.co/8J6iCHjaIV
— Corriere dello Sport (@CorSport) November 3, 2021
Meanwhile, on our end, the list of potential replacements for Rüdiger is starting to grow, and the latest one to join the list is Attila Szalai of Fenerbahçe. According to CNN Turk, Chelsea have “stepped in” with an interest for the Hungary international, and are willing to meet Fener’s €20m asking price.
The report goes as far as to claim that an official bid will be incoming in January, with Chelsea following the 23-year-old’s progress since last season, when he signed with Fenerbahçe in January from Apollon Limassol in Cyprus (ed.note: a couple weeks before Tuchel & Co, including Hungarian assistant Zsolt Lőw, arrived in London in fact).
Szalai, standing at 6ft 4in, has been dubbed the “Hungarian Van Dijk” — (ed.note: HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA ... NO) — is reportedly drawing interest from Atlético Madrid, Leicester City and West Ham as well. He is left-footed and has featured in every Fenerbahçe game this season.
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