Rival legend urges Chelsea to accept star defender’s contract terms to avoid ‘minimum £30m’ spending

Emmanuel Petit advises Chelsea to accept the contract demands of Antonio Rudiger

Speaking in an interview to bookmakers.co.uk. (h/t Metro), Emmanuel Petit urged Chelsea to accept the contract demands of Antonio Rudiger to prevent the possibility of him leaving the club.

Rudiger is in line to become a free agent at the end of the season and has not agreed to an extension. The Blues and his representatives have been engaged in talks for some time but have not reached an agreement on the monetary terms.

The 28-year-old currently has a salary package of around £100,000-a-week but wants a new deal worth double the amount. Bayern Munich have agreed to make him an offer that overshadows his current wages dealing further blows to Roman Abramovich.

“If he leaves, it would be a real pity for Chelsea. If I remember correctly before [Thomas] Tuchel came in he was on the bench and wasn’t playing. Now he looks like one of the best defenders around.”

Petit recommends that Marina Granovskaia should give in to the German’s terms. The club legend said how the English club would have to spend a high sum for replacing him. He backs his statement by claiming that the defender is one of the best in the world currently.

“He could leave on a free and Chelsea would have to spend a minimum of £30m to find a new defender of his level, and there’s never a guarantee a buy will work out. If he asks for two more years, just give him the money.”

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The former Blues player further praises the centre-back for his abilities and hails him as a top player. He also compared the German defender to Martin Keown to make that statement. Even without these claims, it is evident to us that Rudiger is crucial to Thomas Tuchel.

His contributions have helped Tuchel to lead the team to win the Champions League last season. We also have the best defence in the Premier League, with just four goals conceded in 11 games, and it is completely understandable where Petit is coming from when he advises us to tie down our star defender to a new deal.