Antonio Rüdiger waiting on new Chelsea ownership before deciding his future — report

Claims over the weekend emerged of Antonio Rüdiger having supposedly agreed personal terms with Juventus for next season, but those were quickly debunked. Now there are more reasonable reports coming in even from Italy about the 29-year-old not making any hasty decisions yet, and waiting to see how things turn at Chelsea.

According to Sky Italia (via Inside Futbol) Rüdiger has “yet to take the final call on whether to move on” and is “waiting to see whether the next Chelsea owners are prepared to offer him a new contract” — and how big of a new contract of course, since wages and bonuses were said to be the sticking point in all the negotiations earlier this season. (Though some recent reports had claimed that we had agreed on wages before the sanctions hit and prevented us from finalizing the extension.)

So, yet another reason to try to fast-track this ownership transition and (presumably) the end of the sanctions, so that we have a chance to discuss and offer new contracts — and not just to Rüdiger but to César Azpilicueta as well (and maybe Andreas Christensen, if he changes his mind).

Toni will not be short of suitors if that doesn’t happen, with Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid all linked, so it behooves us (and whoever our new owners will be) to not be penny-pinchers.