Tuchel claims he was ‘surprised’ by Rudiger’s decision after scoring for Chelsea vs Brentford

Thomas Tuchel reveals that he was ‘surprised’ by Rudiger celebration after scoring Chelsea’s first goal

Speaking in an interview after Chelsea’s 1-4 loss to Brentford as quoted by the Metro, Thomas Tuchel has revealed that he was surprised by the celebration from Antonio Rudiger after the German defender scored a screamer to put Chelsea in the lead just after half-time.

Despite Chelsea’s shock loss to the Bees, Rudiger’s 30-yard-strike was an unbelievable moment during the game. The German is out of contract in the summer and he is yet to pen a new deal with the London-based club. The Blues are unable to renew player contracts due to the fact that they still are operating under a special license subject to restrictions.

Whilst there have been links between the German centre-back and Real Madrid, PSG, Bayern Munich and Manchester United, nothing concrete has happened yet and Rudiger’s future is very much up in the air.

Rudiger’s celebration after the game, however, did not show any signs of unhappiness with the current club Chelsea as he ran straight to Tuchel after scoring his mesmerising goal against the Bees.

Speaking about his countryman’s celebration, Tuchel admitted that he was surprised to see Rudiger celebrating the goal in the manner that he did.

“I was surprised he came to me to celebrate. He was maybe surprised that the ball went in, because he tried so many times. But yeah, it was a nice moment. You could see how happy he is”

Could Antonio Rudiger stay?

It is not the first time we have seen Rudiger attempting such long-range efforts this season but it finally paid off against the Bees. Whilst it is not the result that Chelsea would have wanted, the German could be proud of his goal.

The 29-year-old centre-back has been one of the main players for Thomas Tuchel ever since he replaced Frank Lampard at Chelsea. The German is said to be very keen on keeping his countryman at Stamford Bridge but reports have emerged that Rudiger has agreed on a fresh chapter in Turin.

Rudiger is not the only centre-back who could be on his way out in the summer with Andreas Christensen also expected to be on his way out. Christensen has supposedly already agreed on a deal to join Barcelona on a free transfer.

This will leave the Chelsea squad extremely short in the defensive region with Thiago Silva and the young Trevoh Chalobah the only viable options in that area.

Chelsea are going through an ownership change and the new owners may have a lot of things to sort out. The first one on that list is to probably splurge in the market for more than one central defender. As it stands, Rudiger is not the only name leaving Stamford Bridge.

More Chelsea News

• Thomas Tuchel has clarified the absence of Trevoh Chalobah for the Chelsea – Brentford clash
• Transfer News: David Moyes has revealed the asking price for Chelsea target Declan Rice
• Transfer News: Barcelona keeping an eye on Chelsea target Jules Kounde

If Rudiger decides to stay, the new owners have one less headache to worry about, It remains to be seen if they manage to convince the German to a new deal but Tuchel will be hoping that is the case.