According to reports, Liverpool head coach Jurgen Klopp has made ‘contact’ with Antonio Rudiger with the view to signing him from Real Madrid.
Rudiger joined Chelsea in 2017 for an initial fee of around £29m from Serie A outfit AS Roma.
The 30-year-old was an integral player at Stamford Bridge as he played over 200 times for the Blues in five seasons. He helped them win the Champions League, Europa League and FA Cup.
The Germany international joined Real Madrid last year on a free transfer after his deal at Chelsea expired. He has featured prominently for the Spanish giants this season, making over 40 appearances across all competitions.
It was claimed last month that Liverpool are going to be in the market for a new centre-back this summer as they intend to make at least five signings.
Liverpool’s interest in defenders comes amid the worrying form of their current crop of players, who have suffered a decline in form under Klopp.
Spanish outlet Nacional are reporting that ‘Liverpool have asked Florentino Perez if he is willing to negotiate an unexpected sale’ of Rudiger this summer.
The report points out that Rudiger ‘starred in another disastrous performance’ as Real Madrid were beaten 2-0 by Real Sociedad last weekend. Due to showings like this, the defender is ‘far from meeting expectations’.
Real Madrid are not giving up on Rudiger as they are ‘continuing to be patient’, but it is being indicated that he is ‘not untouchable’ and ‘they could study the offers that arrive for him’.
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In the report, Liverpool are the only club mentioned as a possible destination for Rudiger. Klopp apparently ‘does not forget his compatriot, whom he already tried to convince to reject Real Madrid and join his project’ at Liverpool last year.
The Liverpool boss has ‘contacted’ Rudiger to discover if he would ‘consider’ a return to the Premier League and he has ‘guaranteed’ the defender a ‘key role’.
Liverpool will ‘go on the attack’ if Real Madrid are willing to sell at a ‘reasonable figure’. The player is ‘very much interested’ in this move but the English club ‘will not do anything crazy for a player who turned 30 a couple of months ago’. The report adds.
‘Liverpool want to get to know Madrid’s intentions closely. Klopp is not willing to invest more than 40 million euros , and will not raise…
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