Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger has agreed personal terms with Real Madrid with the defender joining the Spanish powerhouse on a free transfer come June. The 29-year-old had been offered a new contract at Stamford Bridge but the Blues failed to agree monetary terms with the DFB international. Real Madrid are looking to pay him up to quarter of a million Euros weekly. Rudiger was also on Bayern Munich’s radar earlier in the year but the club also failed to entice the German as he was still uncertain on who to join or extend his stay at Chelsea. Real Madrid have agreed a four-year deal with the Rudiger that sees him remain at the Santiago Bernabau till the summer of 2026.
Chelsea meanwhile have turned their attention to other options to replace Rudiger and Andreas Christiensen who leaves for Barcelona in the summer as well. The Blues have identified Jules Kounde and Manuel Akanji as suitable options to replace Rudiger and Christiensen and they are considering promoting U-23 defender Xavier Mbuyemba. Signing Kounde will be no easy task as there are other top clubs interested in the 23-year-old France international. Bayern Munich,who are very much in the transfer market this summer are looking to replace Niklas Sule who joins Dortmund in June. Sevilla value Kounde at £60m and Chelsea see that amount as too expensive for the player. Sevilla are confident of selling the Frenchman for no less than £55m this summer to any interested club.
Manuel Akanji has worked under Thomas Tuchel during his time as Dortmund manager and the towering Swiss centre-back is open to a move to the Premier League. Manchester United have scouted Akanji in recent periods but no formal meeting has been held between his representatives and Manchester United. Chelsea are also considering entering the market for Leicester City’s Caglar Soyuncu. The Turk is happy at Leicester and he might personally reject an offer from Chelsea. However Leicester could look to cash in on Soyuncu if the bid from Chelsea exceeds £50m. The West London club are also hoping to tie down Cesar Azpilicueta to a one-year deal. No agreement has been reached with the captain, who has been linked to Barcelona in recent weeks but the Chelsea board are confident he will stay one more season.
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