Chelsea prepared to sell key figure for cut-price fee as doubts emerge over contract

A surprise report by Fichajes suggests that Chelsea would be willing to accept offers of just €20m for star defender Antonio Rudiger.

Rudiger was frozen out at Chelsea with Frank Lampard at the helm, but Thomas Tuchel’s decision to start him in his first game as manager of the Blues signalled a chance in fortunes for the German.

The former AS Roma centre-back has scarcely put a foot wrong since then, starring in Chelsea’s Champions League triumph and nailing down that left-centre-back position in Tuchel’s back three.

Unfortunately, his contract is due to expire next summer and in recent days there has been some serious doubt casted over the likelihood of him penning an extension to that deal.

MORE: Chelsea do not have a buy-back clause for £30m departee, Fabrizio Romano confirms

Chelsea have a decision to make. Either risk losing one of their star players on a free, while attempting to convince him to stay, or cash-in when the January transfer window comes around.

Surprisingly, and we’ll take this with a pinch of salt, Fichajes report that Chelsea would be willing to do the latter if they were to receive an offer in the region of €20m [£17m].

That seems incredibly cheap for a player who has been one of the best defenders on the planet this calendar year, irrespective of his contract situation or age (Rudiger is 29-years-old).

You imagine Tuchel would rather have Rudiger at his disposal for the second-half of the season than lose him for a figure that would make virtually no difference to his transfer budget.

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