Three big questions: Chelsea’s Antonio Rudiger bought himself time
By Travis Tyler
Antonio Rudiger has had a rough season for Chelsea, but overall he has bought himself some time. What questions prevail for next season?
There was a more innocent time when fans believed Antonio Rudiger’s return from injury would solve all the defensive issues. When he finally did return from multiple injuries, he did little to solve Chelsea’s defensive issues. In fact, they arguably got worse. Rudiger probably had his worse season in Blue, but at the same time he managed to buy himself time going forward. What questions stick out going into next season?
1. Is helping with transfers really enough to earn a spot?
Chelsea is buying up all the future German superstars this summer as they back Frank Lampard’s plan. These are the caliber of players that are targeted by the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Juventus, and Paris Saint Germain. In a normal year, Chelsea in their current form simply would not be in the running. But this is not a normal year thanks to Covid and the Blues are really the only side capable of flexing that sort of muscle right now.
But that alone is not enough to convince a player with the world at their feet to come to London. Sometimes players need to know they will have a home in their new league. That is where Rudiger comes in.
Rudiger made it clear he wanted Timo Werner to join Chelsea. He has also made it clear he wants the same with Kai Havertz. Having played with both in the German national team, he has surely reached out to try to convince them to wear blue next season. With Werner, that has been a success. With Havertz, it is expected to be.
Helping the Blues sign two of the best young Germans certainly helps Rudiger’s case for being kept around next season. After all, it would be a pretty bad look for Werner (and maybe Havertz) to show up expecting Rudiger to show them the ropes, only to see him packing his locker.
But is that alone really enough to earn a spot in the squad? It may just be, even as Chelsea revamps their backline for next season. Rudiger has bought himself time by playing agent/marketeer for Werner and Havertz, but how much remains to be seen.