Tottenham 0-1 Chelsea: Match statistics

It’s amazing how quickly things can change for a footballer.

A year ago, Tottenham were among many clubs looking to sign Antonio Rudiger after the Chelsea defender fell out of favor with then-coach Frank Lampard.

Now, the German is the “aggressive leader” of Thomas Tuchel, the star performer of the bottom line of the Blues.

Rudiger is also a threat at the other end of the pitch, of course, as he proved once again on Wednesday night, scoring the only goal of the game as Chelsea booked their place in the Carabao Cup final with a 1-0 victory at Tottenham. which sealed an overall success of 3-0.

However, a happy night for traveling fans was also tinged with anxiety. After all, there’s every chance their match winner will leave the club at the end of the season.

As it stands, Rudiger will be a free agent when his current contract with Chelsea expires at the end of the season, which means he is currently free to sign a pre-contract deal with other clubs.

What is even more worrying is that there is no shortage of suitors among the European elite.

Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid are particularly keen on Rudiger and have already made contact with his representatives to discuss a summer change.

How did it come to this? Why are Chelsea at risk of losing arguably their best player this season?

Well, it basically comes down to the fact that the Blues have played hard against Rudiger’s salary claims, refusing to place him among the club’s top earners.

For example, Timo Werner is currently on more than double Rudiger’s estimated £ 100,000-a-week contract.

So it’s no surprise that the 28-year-old is looking for a significant pay raise, given that his next contract will likely be his last big one.

He will certainly feel like he has done enough to earn a raise, given he is enjoying the best form of his career, as he himself admitted after the victory in north London.

Tuchel obviously doesn’t need to be convinced of Rudiger’s importance to his team and has made a personal appeal to the ex-Roma to extend his stay at Stamford Bridge.

The situation is still unresolved but the uncertainty surrounding its future has clearly not affected its shape.

“I don’t think Toni needs a lot of words, coffee chats or dinner invitations or whatever. He’s a top professional,” Tuchel said last week.

“I have 100% confidence in the club, in the player and this is not a problem for me. He is super reliable.”

Indeed, Rudiger has accumulated 2,550 minutes in 28 games this season, which means he has seen more playing time than any other Chelsea player in 2021-22.

Its value for the cause of the Blues cannot therefore be overestimated. Losing him for nothing would be a blow, given that his replacement would prove to be incredibly expensive, given that Leicester’s Wesley Fofana and Sevilla’s Jules Kounde are both reportedly costing over £ 50million ($ 69million).

So the hope is that director Marina Granovskaia and, to a lesser extent, owner Roman Abramovich, realize how expensive it would be to let Rudiger go this summer.

As he further proved against Spurs, Rudiger is Chelsea’s MVP right now.