As the days go by now it is looking more and more likely that defender Antonio Rudiger will be leaving at the end of the season on a free transfer with his deal running out at the club.
Chelsea needn’t panic though, and I am sure there will be players such as Jules Kounde already being looked at again to come in and replace Rudiger, or any other potential centre back we might lose. But even if we end up losing more, we have three current young defenders who can offer great cover and can fill the void.
The most obvious is Trevoh Chalobah, who has had a great season for us and really proved his worth. Not only has he been a good Chelsea player, at times he has been one of our best performers and really showed he is capable of playing regularly at this level.
Next up is a player currently out on loan developing, Levi Colwill. Whilst some might believe it is too soon for him to come in this summer, I actually believe he has shown all the maturity and quality to come into the Chelsea squad this summer and be a decent option for rotation in the squad. The other side of that of course is would it not be more beneficial for him to stay out on loan for another season so he can play regular football? And that is a good argument. But I think as we have seen from this season with injuries, fatigue, and Covid, there would be PLENTY of game time for him here.
The same goes for our next option, Xavier Mbuyamba, who is another quality defender. He is a bit more of a risk as of now because he has never played senior football. But coming through the Barcelona youth team, you know this kid has quality. And he is physically built for the Premier League already and is a top-quality all-round defender.
I have no doubt we will buy if Rudiger and anyone else leaves, but even if we don’t, I won’t be panicking as I fully trust the talent coming up.