Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel has said that Antonio Rudiger wants to leave, amid reported interest from Antonio Conte’s Tottenham Hotspur, as quoted in The Athletic.
Rudiger is out of contract at Chelsea at the end of the season and has been linked with a move to London rivals Tottenham in the summer transfer window.
Sport reported this month that Tottenham boss Conte wants to sign Rudiger and will meet with the 29-year-old in a last-ditch attempt to convince him to move to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the summer transfer window.
We covered the report here on HITC Sport.
Thomas Tuchel on Tottenham target Antonio Rudiger
The Athletic quotes Tuchel as saying about Rudiger: “The situation is that he wants to leave the club. He informed me of this in a private talk.
“We gave everything — me and the club — but we could not fight anymore because of the actions.
“Without the sanctions, we would have at least had the chance to keep fighting for Rudiger to stay but for many weeks now, our hands have been tied.”
Well-known and well-respected journalist Fabrizio Romano has reported on Twitter that Rudiger has an agreement with Spanish and European giants Real Madrid.
Now, that will be a blow for Tottenham in their quest to sign the German centre-back on a free transfer in the summer of 2022.
Yes, Spurs are a big club, but Madrid are arguably the biggest football club on the planet.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side could win the La Liga and the Champions League this season.
So, in our view, Tottenham could well miss out on Rudiger to Madrid this summer.
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