Rüdiger signs for Real Madrid. Will there be a place for the German stopper in Los Blancos’ line-up?

Antonio Rüdiger has made a huge leap in the last year and a half, going from Chelsea’s bench stopper to one of the best defenders in the Premier League, but he will not renew his contract in London and will 99% head to Real Madrid. But in what position?

Rüdiger can owe a lot to Thomas Tuchel. Thanks to his change of formation to three stoppers, the lanky stopper has made a huge step up and got into the form of his life, he was also a big part of winning the Champions League.

But he didn’t agree a new contract with the management, because he had completely different salary requirements than the Chelsea management imagined. So there is a huge demand for a player who will be available for free in the summer. Real Madrid, PSG, Bayern, Manchester United, Barcelona, Rüdiger can choose.

And in the end, Real Madrid won. According to renowned journalist Fabrizio Romano, almost everything is already agreed and the German stopper will sign a four-year contract in the Spanish capital. However, nothing will be officially announced before the end of the season.

Real Madrid needed to strengthen the defence, but there is a bit of a question about where to go with Rüdiger. After all, Carlo Ancelotti was looking for an extension of the competition rather than a direct player for the starting line-up. The Alaba – Militao pairing has been very reliable and neither will be on the bench.

So the most likely option seems to be moving David Alaba to left-back and Rüdiger to full-back. This is because Ferland Mendy is very often injured, plus he is not very strong offensively, although his defensive work is world class.

It is also possible to rotate all three stoppers depending on the opponent, current form or need. The fourth stopper would remain the reliable offspring Nacho, who has been filling the role of the third stopper this season, but often fills in at fullback. It was during some of the absences in defence that Real had a problem, hence the arrival of the reinforcements from London.

Source: Fabrizio Romano, Real Madrid