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Real Madrid could look to bring in Chelsea’s Antonio Rudiger in January if their defensive problems continue before then.

That’s according to Onda Cero journalist Alberto Pereiro, who says the German is ‘under close scrutiny’ by the Spanish giants as a result of his contract situation.

As you’re probably aware by this point, Rudiger’s contract with Chelsea expires next summer, and, despite the club’s best efforts, he is yet to sign an extension to that.

That’s got all the big clubs in Europe standing to attention as the German international will be able to negotiate with teams in Europe regarding a free transfer for next summer come January.

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All of the big sides in Europe have thus been linked with a move, including Real Madrid, who need to bolster their defence after losing Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane in the summer.

They’ve struggled in that department so far, conceding ten goals in eight games in La Liga already, the worst of the top four in the division and only three fewer than bottom of the table Getafe.

Their struggles continued in the weekend defeat to Espanyol, and according to Pereiro, if that bad form continues, that could lead them to ‘bring in Rudiger in January’.

According to him, an ‘agreement has already been in place for months’ regarding the defender, although the website doesn’t make it clear if that’s an agreement with the defender or the club agreeing to the transfer.

However, the interest is certainly there, and he followed up his appearance on the radio station with a tweet regarding the Chelsea man.

On him, he said that Madrid have a number of players whose contracts are expiring ‘under close scrutiny’ ahead of next season. One of those currently resides in London, i.e. Rudiger.

Now that seems a little less advanced than what he said on the radio show, which hinted at a deal being agreed.

That would be against what Rudiger has said publicly about the situation, so we’ll take his word on that front for now, although Real Madrid are clearly interested and keeping a close eye on him.

Indeed, it seems if they continue to struggle defensively, that interest is only going to ramp up the closer we get to January.