Report: Club decide they don’t want to sign £29m Chelsea player, now they want his ‘fantastic’ teammate instead

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Bayern Munich have reportedly concluded their pursuit of Antonio Rudiger but will continue to chase fellow Chelsea defender Andreas Christensen.

According to Goal, the Bundesliga champions view Christensen rather than Rudiger as the replacement for Niklas Sule.

Bayern will be losing Sule to bitter rivals Borussia Dortmund once his contract expires in the summer.

Someone must fill the sizeable 6ft4in hole left in the Bavarian’s squad once BVB acquire the centre-back.

It seems Bayern have identified Christensen as the man to do so.

Rudiger removed from Bayern’s list

Originally, Rudiger was the one tipped to move back to his birthplace and join forces with the country’s most powerful footballing entity.

The Allianz Arena hierarchy had been keeping a close eye on the German’s situation whilst contract talks with Chelsea stuttered and stalled.

With the expiration date of his deal still set for June, the £29m (BBC) signing from Roma was allowed to listen to offers from foreign clubs last month.

Bayern were originally one of the many interested suitors from across Europe, but have apparently now withdrawn their intrigue.

Instead, they want Rudiger’s Stamford Bridge partner.

Race is on for Andreas

Christensen’s contract with the Champions League holders also concludes at the end of the campaign.

At one stage, it seemed the Dane, described as ‘fantastic’ by international colleague Simon Kjaer, would agree to an extension, yet a change of agents altered that perspective completely.

He, like Rudiger, is still holding out for a pay rise.

As it stands, neither have been granted their wishes, as the Chelsea chain of command fail to waver from the offers currently on the table.

If a conclusion is not met, Thomas Tuchel could risk losing two of his key guardians, alongside Cesar Azpilicueta, another walking the contract tight rope.

Someone has to budge; we just hope the club move their chess pieces first.

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