Chelsea could’ve sold amazing star for more than Gallagher

Chelsea conceded 63 goals last season in the Premier League, the highest number of goals conceded by the club in recent years, with their next closest being 54 conceded in the 19/20 season, in the last 10-year span.

Structural issues under Mauricio Pochettino, an array of defensive configurations due to injuries and form, and an open, expansive playing style led to Chelsea’s poorest defensive season in 10+ years.

Luckily, the Blues have managed to field the same back four (five including the goalkeeper) in their first three Premier League games of the season, with Robert Sanchez, Malo Gusto, Wesley Fofana, Levi Colwill, and Marc Cucurella, with their only change coming in the fourth game, due to the absence of Gusto.

Chelsea did once, however, have an exceptional centre-back who starred for them in the top-flight but they ended up having a howler with him.

Antonio Rüdiger at Chelsea

Antonio Rüdiger joined Chelsea in 2017, signing for a fee of around £34m from Roma. The German spent five years at the club, playing under multiple managers, such as Antonio Conte, Maurizio Sarr, Frank Lampard, and Thomas Tuchel.

Rudiger made 203 appearances for the Blues, scoring 12 goals and providing five assists during this time, and totaling 17,887 minutes played. His best stint came under German boss Tuchel, who praised him as “world-class” back in 2022.

The German international won five major trophies for the Blues in his time, including the Champions League in the 2020/21 season, in what was a successful spell for him at Stamford Bridge.

Rudiger then saw out his contract and joined Real Madrid on a free transfer (£0), despite being worth €50.00m (£42.2m) at his peak according to Transfermarkt. That’s more than the £38m fee Chelsea received for Conor Gallagher this summer.

Chelsea managed to sell Gallagher to Atlético Madrid for this fee, despite only having one year left on his deal, showing their ability to generate a fee for players, even with contracts expiring. Unfortunately, due to an ownership change at the time, the Blues were unable to negotiate contracts, meaning they couldn’t offer Rudiger a new deal even if they tried.

The mistake the season prior, to allow Rudiger to enter the last year of his contract without either extracting a fee or signing a new deal, is ultimately what led to the German leaving on a free, something the new owners are keen to avoid happening again, as seen with the Gallagher situation this summer.

Rudiger at Real Madrid

Since joining Madrid, Rudiger has made 107 appearances, scoring four goals, providing three assists, and totaling 8,478 minutes. He has also already won seven trophies, including another Champions League triumph, and a La Liga title.

Madrid fans have fallen in love with Rudiger, with even Roberto Carlos stating he has “the effort, the dedication, the commitment” to wear the Real Madrid shirt. And it is that exact passion and dedication that Chelsea could definitely use now.

The metrics from this season so far, are a good indicator of why stats don’t always tell you the full story. Ruidger has averaged the fewest tackles per 90, blocks per 90, and interceptions per 90, between the trio of defenders, but this would mainly be due to the amount of transitions Chelsea have to defend, compared to Real Madrid.

Much of the defensive sweeping for Madrid is done by Aurelien Tchouameni in midfield, taking away a lot of defensive actions needed by the central defenders. Rudiger shines as a 1v1 defender, duelist, and aggressor, putting opposition forwards off with his sheer presence.

The German does prove to be the most progressive passer though, averaging 5.40 per 90, closely contested by Colwill who averages 5.25 per 90. Overall, Chelsea could definitely do with a defensive specialist like Rudiger, who would bring that leadership back to their defensive line, and I’m sure they regret the way in which he was allowed to leave on a free.