According to The Atheltic, Chelsea are looking forward to renewing the contract of their important players. The Blues faced difficulties in renewing the contracts of Rudiger and Christensen before. Moreover, Azpilicueta is attracting attention from clubs like Barcelona. Therefore, Chelsea also wants to renew his contract in order to avoid losing him on a free transfer.
All three of them have become very crucial to Thomas Tuchel’s plans this season. Chelsea cannot afford to lose any more defenders without proper replacements. Reece James’ injury has forced Azpilicueta to put in regular shifts for Chelsea. Moreover, all three of them have a contract expiring in June this year.
Real Madrid had a proposal for Rudiger offering him £173,000-a-week. However, he rejected the proposal and now demands £225,000-a-week from Chelsea. Although the offer seems tough, very few players will reject an offer from Real Madrid and he is also an important player for Chelsea.
It is said that Chelsea have offered him £200,00-a-week but whether he accepts that or not remains to be seen. Chelsea have already let Fikayo Tomori and Marc Guehi leave and now they do not have the defensive depth in their squad. Moreover, it will be a disaster if Chelsea lets these three players leave without replacing them.
Why Chelsea must renew the contract of these three players?
Firstly, Chelsea does not have the depth in defense and cannot afford to lose players without any replacement. Chalobah has recently started his career and Thiago Silva has already started quite a few times at the age of 37. Rudiger has started almost every match for Chelsea this season and has become undroppable.
Secondly, it will be very difficult to find a replacement for Rudiger, Christensen, and also to find a new club captain. Azpilicueta has done his job whenever required and has shown a great mentality to always serve his club. Very few players at the club have that now who are not as experienced as Azpilicueta.
Lastly, Chelsea risks losing these players on a free transfer this summer if they do not renew their contracts. Christensen is still 25-years-old and could get a good amount for the Danish defender if they list him on the transfer list. However, he could leave for free this summer and the Blues will also not get enough funds to replace him at the club.
It will be the best situation for Chelsea if they somehow convince all three to stay at the club. However, Chelsea may have to meet the demands of the players as they will be the ones to suffer more than the players if they depart. Nevertheless, Chelsea should avoid this mistake of not extending the contract on time, or else they might face this situation again in the future.
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