Out-of-favour Chelsea defender on the radars of La Liga heavyweights ahead of January

Barcelona want Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger if they fail to sign Eric Garcia from Manchester City

A report by Mundo Deportivo (h/t football.london) claims that FC Barcelona will consider Chelsea centre-back Antonio Rudiger as one of the two alternatives if they fail to land Eric Garcia.

Eric Garcia remains Barcelona’s number one target despite the club already failing to land him in the past. The club’s £700m debt made them reconsider the £9m price tag put on Garcia by Manchester City. (h/t football.london)

However, Ronald Koeman is still keen on bringing in a centre-back in January. The most recent long-term injury to veteran defender Gerard Pique has worsened the injury crisis at the La Liga club and made their manager desperate for cover at the back. (h/t football.london)

Barcelona will be without their Spanish defender until April and will look to add much-needed depth to their defence by pursuing a number of centre-backs in the upcoming transfer window. (h/t football.london)

Antonio Rudiger and Arsenal defender Shkodran Mustafi are said to be the two alternatives if Barcelona fail to sign 19-year-old Eric Garcia from Manchester City.

Antonio Rudiger would be a viable option for Koeman and Barcelona as the defender has lost his starting place at Chelsea to Kurt Zouma and Thiago Silva.

The 27-year-old German defender rejected the chance to join West Ham United at the end of last summer and decided to stay at Chelsea to fight for his place in the starting XI. (h/t football.london)

However, that has failed to happen. Rudiger has been reduced to a being a benchwarmer at the club as he has made just 2 starts for Chelsea this season.

With Lampard having found his preferred centre-back pairing of Kurt Zouma and Thiago Silva at the club, Rudiger would understand that he is no longer the go-to man at the back for Lampard like he was in the latter stages of last season.

The upcoming 2020 UEFA European Championships next summer also has the potential to influence Rudiger’s move away from the club as he looks to pin down a berth in the German national squad.