The Athletic’s David Ornstein has revealed that it was Antonio Rudiger who turned down the chance to move to Tottenham in the previous transfer window, despite the fact that Chelsea were willing to do business with their London rivals.
Tottenham reportedly made an attempt to sign Rudiger on transfer deadline day after seeing their move for Milan Skriniar collapse (Football Insider).
After failing to get Rudiger, Spurs instead sealed a deal for Joe Rodon from Swansea City just before the EFL transfer deadline.
Former Sunderland striker Kevin Phillips suggested last month that it might have been Chelsea’s unwillingness to strengthen a direct rival that led to the Rudiger deal falling through.
The German international has continued to struggle for game time at Stamford Bridge, having made just two appearances this campaign in all competitions.
However, Ornstein has now revealed that the defender did not want to join Spurs after the North Londoners made a loan offer last month since Rudiger felt that going back to Chelsea after a loan at Spurs might make life difficult for him.
When asked about the possibility of the 27-year-old joining Liverpool in January, the journalist said in the Ask Ornstein podcast: “Chelsea won’t do business with a rival, particularly Liverpool though their stance on that sort of thing appeared to soften in the last window.
“It was Rudiger who actually turned down a move to Tottenham. He felt that going from Chelsea on loan to Spurs and potentially back again might make life very difficult.”
Keep up to date with all the latest Tottenham news and opinion by following SpursWeb’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.
