Chelsea have reached out to a former player’s camp as they explore a potential move to bring him back to the club.
Ahead of the summer transfer window, the Blues are being linked with several stars who used to play at Stamford Bridge earlier in their careers.
For example, Chelsea are prepared to bid for Marc Guehi as they target the Crystal Palace and England defender. The centre-back has developed into one of the Premier League’s top defenders since leaving the Blues and moving to Selhurst Park in 2021.
On top of that, Chelsea are interested in signing Ola Aina, the Nottingham Forest right-back who started in the academy at Cobham.
Fresh transfer rumours now suggest that Enzo Maresca’s side want to re-sign a Chelsea player who left three years ago when Thomas Tuchel was in the manager’s dugout.
In some eye-catching transfer speculation, Chelsea are now being linked with a summer move for Real Madrid superstar Antonio Rudiger, who enjoyed five seasons in West London earlier in his career.
According to FootballTransfers, the Blues are exploring the possibility of a move to re-sign Rudiger.
It is explained that Chelsea have reached out to the central defender’s camp in recent days to be kept informed on the player’s future at Madrid. Apparently, they’ve laid some early groundwork for a potential summer deal.
The report explains that Maresca’s side are ‘ready to negotiate’ for the 32-year-old German star if given the green light for a move.
Apparently, Rudiger is generally happy in the Spanish capital, but a move could be on the cards because of some disagreement recently. It’s interesting to note that Chelsea still consider him to be a world-class asset, too.
| Club | Appearances | Trophies |
| Chelsea | 203 | 5 |
| Real Madrid | 151 | 8 |
| Stuttgart | 80 | 0 |
| Roma | 72 | 0 |
In the summer of 2022, Rudiger left Chelsea when his contract expired. He’s since gone on and become one of the world’s very elite defenders in Madrid colours.
Incidentally, Blues co-owner Todd Boehly was shocked Antonio Rudiger left on a free under the previous ownership.
Antonio Rudiger felt ‘misled’ by his agent
Prior to Rudiger leaving Chelsea and joining Madrid, the two clubs met in the Champions League quarter-finals in April 2022, with the Spanish giants coming out on top. Interestingly, the German defender believes his agent “misled” him to motivate him to play his best football in the European tie against his future employers.
Rudiger’s brother – who is also his agent – used a clever trick to get him to perform to his highest level.
Speaking to German media outlet Sport1 in September 2022, Rudiger said: “There were only two options for me: either I stay at Chelsea or I go to Real Madrid. Germany was not a serious option for me. At the end of April, my options became really concrete. But before everything was clear, my brother misled me a bit.
“Chelsea played against Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter finals and after the first leg loss, he suddenly said to me: ‘Toni, I don’t know if this will still work! In the second leg you have to prove everything to keep going.’ Those words, that I might not move, hurt me but that motivated me.”
It’s certainly worked out well for him with a very successful spell so far at Madrid, where he’s still under contract until 2026. Could he make a remarkable return to Chelsea, though?
