Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger has confirmed discussions are in place over a possible contract renewal and reassured fans that he is ‘happy’ at the club.
Rudiger is out of contract at the end of the campaign and now free to talk to foreign teams from as early as January over a possible move away from Stamford Bridge.
PSG, Real Madrid, Bayern and Liverpool are all said to be monitoring the situation and could make moves for the German star, who played a major role on Chelsea’s route to Champions League glory last season.
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But, speaking to The Guardian, the former Stuttgart and Roma defender gave his biggest hint yet that he sees his long-term future in London.
‘The most important thing is that I feel happy here,’ Rudiger said. ‘I think if people look at it, they can see I’m happy. About the contract situation, I talk with the club. This is for nobody’s ears.
‘It was how I said it would be after the Euros – there would be talks. There was a talk between Marina [Granovskaia, a Chelsea director] and my agent.
‘We have the situation where we are at now and I have nothing to do with all the speculation. This is not in my mind.
‘I’m focused on what I’m doing because this is why I wake up every morning.’
Chelsea have placed Jules Kounde, Matthijs de Ligt and Pau Torres on their wishlist as they prepare for the potential departures of both Rudiger and Christensen.
But, Thomas Tuchel remains hopeful of keeping hold of fellow countryman Rudiger, who has been offered £140,000-a-week to stay at the club, according to reports.
Tuchel told reporters last month: ‘I hope that they find solutions, but it’s not only between coaches and players, and what we wish for and that’s why it’s between the club, the players and the agent at the moment.
‘We hope that they find the solution and everything I can say, he plays excellent, and since a long time very consistent, on a very high level. ‘I feel him very calm and focused, and it’s not a distraction for him.
‘So everything is in place, and give things the time they need. Sometimes it needs a bit longer, sometimes things are very fast.
‘There’s no news from my side, and I think that Toni feels very, very good at Chelsea, he feels very respected by his team-mates and he feels the importance that he has in the team and in the squad.
‘That’s well deserved because he delivers, he feels the love from the supporters when he plays. He’s in the strongest league in Europe, in a big club, so not many reasons to change that.’
