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Chelsea are to offer centre back Antonio Rüdiger a new contract at Stamford Bridge.
The German’s current deal expires in 2022, but he has admitted that he came close to leaving the club after losing his place at the start of the season in West London.
At one stage he was seriously considering a switch to Tottenham, but after a heart to heart with Lampard, he decided to stay and fight for his place.
And he has been rewarded under his successor Thomas Tuchel, becoming a regular starter and forming part of what is becoming one of the meanest defences in the league.
Rüdiger was signed by Antonio Conte in 2017 from Roma, and has gone on to make 135 appearances for the club in all competitions, scoring 6 times, and winning both the FA Cup and the Europa League during his time in West London.
He has 37 senior international caps for Germany.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.