Micah Richards has urged Chelsea’s new owners to sign a replacement for Antonio Rudiger straight away once they are in place.
It’s been confirmed that the Blues will be losing a key player this summer when commanding defender Rudiger exits at the end of his contract.
Unfortunately, Thomas Tuchel’s side won’t be able to go about getting his replacement until the club’s takeover is completed.
The takeover race is reportedly at the stage where the three remaining bidders have been asked to make a long-term commitment to own the London club for at least 10 years.
With 29-year-old star Rudiger heading for the exit doors, it leaves a major hole in the starting line-up.
The Germany international’s been an ever-present as the left-sided centre-back in a back three, so Tuchel will need to find a suitable man to fill that role on a regular basis.
Richards feels Chelsea need to make his replacement a priority once they can enter the transfer market.
“They have got to go and replace Rudiger now when the sanctions [are lifted] and they get a new owner. To replace Rudiger in this market now you are looking at £40million or £50million,” Richards told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“Rudiger is thinking ‘well they have to replace me’ so when it comes to negotiating a deal he’s saying ‘instead of going and paying x amount for that player, give me this money and we can do a deal’. But clubs when it gets to that don’t want to do it, they just don’t see it.”
Chelsea in danger
If clubs know the Blues are desperate for a top-quality centre-half, there may be a danger rivals ramp up their valuations to take advantage of that.
The best way to approach finding a replacement is to accept a like-for-like signing is very unlikely.
There aren’t many defenders around with the same kind of intensity, pace and aggression as him, so Tuchel may need to go in a different direction.
Ideally, Chelsea’s replacement is someone that’s very capable in possession and loves defending. A lot of importance may go into whether or not Tuchel intends to stick with his favoured back three system.
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