Chelsea

Chelsea

Premier League • England

Chelsea man in the sights of Real Madrid as transfer talks intensify after rival emerges

Antonio Rudiger Chelsea

Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger is in the sights of Real Madrid, who are reportedly intensifying their transfer talks after a rival emerged.

Rudiger has once again turned down an approach from the Stamford Bridge hierarchy to renew his contract this week. While they may not want him to leave, his exit is looking more and more likely. And his availability is a remarkable opportunity.

The Germany international is in the prime of his career at 28. Signing such a player as a free agent is rare.

As such, a lot of top clubs have been queueing up. La Liga giants Real are looking to get the jump on the rest and skip the line, though.

That’s according to Fichajes, who claim they have stepped up their negotiations.

What’s more, they believe an agreement could be reached shortly. Of course, Rudiger is able to sign a pre-contract with them with his Blues deal ending in the summer.

This comes after a separate report from the outlet stated that Bayern Munich were back in the fray, with Niklas Sule set to leave.

It was argued that the former Roma centre-back wanted to return to the Bundesliga for the first time since 2015.

Before moving to Italy, he played for Hertha Berlin, Borussia Dortmund and Stuttgart in his home country.

Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger back on Bayern Munich radar

Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger back on Bayern Munich radar

Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger is a target for Bayern Munich to replace Niklas Sule at the end of the season, according to reports.

Rudiger’s wage demands may prevent Bayern being able to sign him. He wants his current salary to be nearly doubled, surpassing the £200k-per-week mark.

Real would likely be able to afford that, and have seen success with signing a free agent when they picked former Bayern man David Alaba up last year.

PSG are the other top contender. They would have no money concerns either, but may have to move quick to stop Real from wrapping up the job.

Chelsea transfer stay explained

Chelsea defender Malang Sarr

Meanwhile, Frank Lampard never gave his full support to the signing of Malang Sarr for Chelsea, a report has revealed.

Chelsea signed Sarr in the summer of 2020 as a free agent. The promising defender had just been released at the end of his contract with Nice.

However, then-manager Lampard did not have a place in his plans for him.

Sarr spent his first season as a Chelsea player out on loan with Porto. He amassed 19 appearances in all competitions before returning to the Stamford Bridge fold.

In fact, it was another key Chelsea figure who made the move happen…

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