Wednesday, 29 December 2021
Chelsea’s defense line quartet contracts could be the source of troubles
By db-admin
DBasia.news – Chelsea is going through a period of ups and downs or inconsistency in playing. In the last two matches the Blues drew against Everton (1-1) and Wolverhampton Wanderers (0-0) in the Premier League.
Nevertheless, the Chelsea squad still has good depth and is still competitive in all competitions. It’s just that there is one particular spotlight that former Chelsea striker, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has noticed.
Hasselbaink discussed the contract situation of the Chelsea defense or defense quartet, namely Cesar Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva, Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger. Their contracts expire at the end of this season.
Except for Azpilicueta (32 years old) and Silva (37 years old) Rudiger and Christensen’s situation is different. Both are still in demand by many of Europe’s top clubs. The situation is not ideal for Chelsea as it can interfere with the focus of playing.
Hasselbaink is worried that Christensen and Rudiger are starting to think about their future, especially when the January 2022 winter transfer window opens. Players whose contracts expire can start negotiating.
“The problem will come for Rudiger and Christensen, if they haven’t signed a contract, in March, April, May,” Hasselbaink told Mirror Sport.
“Because if they had other clubs interested, how would it be? How are they performing? That would be a problem.”
“Can they keep Rudiger? What is that balance? Because if you had to replace it at will, it would cost a lot of money.”
“But on the other hand you also don’t want him to get crazy sums of money, way more than the others because that takes the balance off the team.”
“You have to think about a lot of things. Can you get a replacement? Do you have one? Is it someone who can come through the academy? Is it someone you will purchase and develop? If that’s the case, you’ll definitely lose another two years getting Rudiger again.”
“Chelsea are not in an easy position. That’s very challenging. And Rudiger is in a better position because he only plays football to the best of his ability and he will choose the best for him, and that may end up being Real Madrid.”
A problem that will be big concern if it is not immediately resolved by Chelsea, the defending champions of the Champions League.