The Antonio Rudiger contract situation is one that has split opinions, and for me, it has actually seen me change mine, which of course is totally fine to do in football.
First of all I was insistent that Chelsea must pay whatever Rudiger wants, he is a quality defender and one of our best performers since Thomas Tuchel took over the reigns in January.
However, since reading in to it and thinking some more, I am now in a position where I believe that Chelsea and Rudiger must be prepared to meet somewhere in the middle of what each side is demanding, or if one or neither are prepared to do that, then both parties need to walk away.
The actual details are unclear, but going off a report from SportBild in Germany, it looks like Chelsea are offering nowhere near what Rudiger is demanding right now, and they describe it as a ‘slap in the face’.
Chelsea are clearly under-offering when Rudiger is concerned, but the club must feel as if their offer is fair. I believe that if Rudiger is asking for £200k-a-week, and for example if Chelsea are offering £140k-a-week then I think something around £160k-a-week would be more than fair for both parties.
Rudiger will be 29-years old in March, do Chelsea want to be paying a 34-year old £200k-a-week if he signs a 5-year deal? No, they don’t. Rudiger is a great defender, but he isn’t irreplaceable.
If Chelsea give in and pay him what he wants they will then be seen to be weak in negotiations and that has a knock-on effect on transfer pursuits as well as contract talks going forward.
Chelsea are clearly looking at this situation on the whole and to me that is wise. I think £160k-a-week is more than reasonable if the club did offer that, and I see no reason why from both sides they are not prepared to meet halfway.
