Antonio Rudiger says he is only focused on Chelsea and ‘owes’ it to the club to keep performing as speculation continues to swirl around his future at the club.
The German defender’s current deal with the Blues expires next summer and he is free to begin pre-contract negotiations with foreign teams from January.
Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and PSG are all rumoured to be keen to try and sign Rudiger on a free transfer when his contract expires.
Although Chelsea have offered the player a pay rise to extend his stay, the defender is believed to be holding out for wages in excess of £200,000-per-week – a figure the London club are not ready to go to.
Some Premier League teams are also keeping tabs on the situation – with Man City and Tottenham both linked with moves – though they cannot discuss terms with Rudiger until the summer.
Despite the amount of speculation surrounding him, Rudiger says his contract situation is at the very back of his mind and he will continue to give his all for Chelsea.
‘For now I am only concentrating on what is happening right now. I owe that to the club, the coach and the team,’ Rudiger told Welt am Sonntag.
Probed further on whether a return to the German Bundesliga was a possibility, Rudiger said: ‘I’m currently only focused on Chelsea. We’ll see what happens.’
Rudiger played in Germany’s 9-0 victory over Albania but picked up a yellow card in the game which means he is suspended for their final World Cup qualifier against Armenia on Sunday.
That is positive news for Chelsea, with the player leaving Germany’s camp and returning to London early, with Rudiger set to have a full week of training at Cobham starting on Monday, with Thomas Tuchel having given the team last week off.
