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Antonio Rudiger’s contract with Chelsea expires at the end of the current season, and that puts the defender in a good situation when it comes to renewal talks.

The 28-year-old will likely be looking for the last big contract of his career, and will use all the cards he has in his hand. There’s already been claims of interest from big clubs around Europe, although there doesn’t appear to be anything concrete at this stage.

Bild’s Christian Falk now reports Chelsea will need to ‘make it double’ and increase the German’s wages by 100%. At the moment he receives €5.5m before tax a season, so would be looking for around €11m.

It’s noted that Jules Kounde was offered €4.5m a year, after tax, to join Chelsea in the summer market, so there’s the chance Rudiger now wants more because of that.

A salary of €11m wouldn’t put the defender in the bracket of Chelsea’s highest earners, and contract length could end up being a more important issue. Rudiger turns 29-years-of-age before the season ends, and Chelsea may be reluctant to offer anything longer than two years.