Paul Merson said Chelsea will have to spend quite a lot of money to replace Antonio Rudiger whom he expects to leave at the end of the season.
In less than a month, Rudiger, whose contract with Chelsea expires at the end of the season, will be able to speak to other clubs over a potential summer free transfer move.
The Telegraph’s Matt Law recently claimed that Chelsea were planning to re-open contract negotiations with the 28-year-old’s representatives after no contact in the last two months.
However, considering the timing, being open to as many offers as possible, including from other clubs, before making any decision would be the most sensible option from Rudiger’s perspective.
Rudiger’s signing an extension at Chelsea remains a possibility, but Merson is convinced that the centre-back will leave the club.
“Chelsea are going to miss Antonio Rudiger when he goes because it will take £60-70million to replace him,” the former Arsenal midfielder wrote in his column for the Daily Star.
“Rudiger is definitely leaving.
“If he wanted to sign a new contract he would have done it by now. There’s no chance he stays now.
“But it’s not Thomas Tuchel’s fault. I think he made his mind up to go when Frank Lampard had him out of the team.
“And even though he’s been phenomenal since Tuchel brought him back in, and they won the Champions League, Rudiger hasn’t forgotten.”
Tuchel should already draw up a list of potential Rudiger replacements at Chelsea, says Merson
Merson believes clubs will be “queuing” for the Germany international with one of them willing to pay “a lorryload of money” to him.
“He’s been one of Chelsea’s two best players all season for me, and he won’t be easy to replace – but Tuchel should already be thinking about whom to go for,” he added.
“There just aren’t many world-class centre-backs around any more, and the ones who are will cost a small fortune.
“That’s why I don’t understand it when clubs let a player run down their contract like this. It makes no sense at all, and it does my head in.”
To be fair, Rudiger was actually very close to leaving in summer 2020 before he eventually cemented his spot in the team following Tuchel’s arrival.
Very few, if any, expected the former AS Roma star to be such an integral part of the team after playing a rather limited role under Lampard.
On the other hand, Rudiger, who is arguably in a much stronger negotiating position than Chelsea, understandably wants to secure his likely last big contract while demands are high.
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