Liverpool and Newcastle United look set to miss out on Antonio Rudiger, with the Chelsea defender close to signing a pre-contract with Serie A side Juventus.
According to Gazzetta dello Sport, the German international is on the verge of agreeing a four-year contract with the Italian giants with Rudiger’s deal at Chelsea set to expire this summer, drawing interest from the likes of Liverpool and Newcastle.
The defender, who joined Chelsea in 2017 for a reported £29m, has been one of the Blues’ best players since the appointment of Thomas Tuchel, with pundit Chris Sutton hailing the 29-year-old as ‘phenomenal’ in recent months.
Rudiger’s form has made him one of the most feared defenders in the Premier League, and according to the likes of the Daily Mail and Eurosport, both Liverpool and Newcastle were interested in signing the Chelsea superstar before Juventus’ sudden move for the centre-back.
Indeed, Real Madrid have also been strongly linked with Rudiger and at one point looked like the favourites to sign the former AS Roma defender, however, it now looks like Juventus have won the race for the Chelsea rock.
The titanic news will be a shock for both Liverpool and Newcastle, who could have seen themselves as favourites to land Rudiger over Juventus given the Serie A side’s recent exit from the UEFA Champions League and poor league form.
Juventus is sensible for Rudiger amid Liverpool and Newcastle interest
Rudiger’s future has been a big talking point in recent weeks, and with Juventus now set to sign the defender, a return to Italy seems to be the most sensible option for the German even with interest from Liverpool and Newcastle.
After all, Juventus need improving at the back and signing a former Serie A star for free is a smart move by the Italian giants, with Rudiger also likely to start and flourish for the Old Lady over the likes of Liverpool and Newcastle, where moving to an English rival could be unsettling.
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