Chelsea player ‘would be delighted’ with January transfer – Pushed forward as option

Antonio Rüdiger to Barcelona claims are picking up in the Spanish media, in a turn of events which would be very positive for the Germany defender.

With the Catalan club unsure of whether they’ll be able to sign Eric Garcia from Manchester City in January, perhaps having to wait until the end of the defender’s contract, Sport have been looking at other options.

The newspaper report Rüdiger ‘would be delighted’ to swap Chelsea for Barcelona in the January window, despite the fact he’d only be the fourth choice central defender with the Blaugrana.

Barcelona would be looking for a low-cost transfer or even a loan, the latter option seeing them through until the expected arrival of Garcia.

Given Frank Lampard hasn’t been using Rüdiger for Chelsea much this season, that could be a possibility and it would also help to revalue the player if he was to get minutes in Spain.

However, the main issue is likely to be wages.

It’s unlikely Chelsea would subsidise the German’s salary and Barcelona’s wage bill is in desperate need of trimming. Taking an established Premier League player doesn’t seem like the type of cheap deal the Catalans would be looking for.