Chelsea have a history of bringing former players back to the club, with Didier Drogba and Nemanja Matic returning in the past.
The January transfer window always poses a challenge for Premier League clubs looking to sell and buy players.
Chelsea have Raheem Sterling’s future to deal with, as well as players like Tyrique George looking to seal a permanent move away from Stamford Bridge.
But clubs are always reluctant to splash the cash in January, which makes it difficult when Chelsea are only looking at permanent deals for the pair.
That’s not the only issue either, as Chelsea want to make an addition of their own.
The position that Chelsea MUST strengthen in 2026 is _ _ _ _ _ _
Chelsea owner Behdad Eghbali and directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart at Wolves game
Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images
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Chelsea and Antonio Rudiger rumours have been put to bed
Ray Parlour has urged Chelsea to go out and re-sign Antonio Rudiger given their current issues at centre-back, but it doesn’t look as if that will happen.
This is despite Trevoh Chalobah stating that he still speaks to Rudiger.
According to TalkSPORT, Chelsea insiders are downplaying any approach to date.
Now, this doesn’t rule out the transfer entirely, but you can’t help but feel that this would be a difficult transfer to pull off in January when his contract is up anyway in the summer.
Would YOU have Antonio Rudiger back at Chelsea, and why? 🧱
Rudiger's contract ends in June.
Now, or in the summer on a free?
Antonio Rudiger.
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Antonio Rudiger compared to Chelsea’s centre-backs
As you can see, Antonio Rudiger holds a better passing percentage than any Chelsea centre-back this season, which would really help him settle into Liam Rosenior‘s system.
He also holds his own when it comes to duels won. Chelsea fans know all about his strength, having seen him knock some of the best attackers off the ball during his time at Stamford Bridge.
However, it’s not just his defensive qualities that stand out, it’s the leadership and organisation at the back that really helps. This is something that is missing from the current Chelsea squad.
Player Apps Goals Pass % Interceptions (p90) Clearances (p90) Duel Win %
Antonio Rudiger 7 0 93.5% 0.4 4.1 64.7%
Trevoh Chalobah 20 3 91.9% 1.4 6.2 59.2%
Wesley Fofana 14 0 91.0% 1.8 5.8 52.0%
Benoit Badiashile 6 0 93.8% 1.2 2.3 50.0%
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