Chelsea step up efforts to keep hold of player of the season defender

Chelsea eased through to the Carabao Cup final on Wednesday, with Antonio Rudiger’s goal enough to give them a 1-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur. 

The Blues went through 3-0 on aggregate after a 2-0 victory last week at Stamford Bridge, and Thomas Tuchel will now lead the club out at a 15th domestic cup final since 2000.

Chelsea will be hoping to win the trophy for a fifth time, having last won it in 2015 after eating Spurs 2-1 at Wembley.

The Blues are no nearer to knowing who they will face in the final, however, with Arsenal and Liverpool having played out a goalless draw in the first leg of their semi-final on Thursday evening.

In the meantime, the Blues will reportedly be working hard on securing the futures of some of their star players, and they are apparently ready to increase their efforts to keep hold of Rudiger.

Rudiger’s goal secured Chelsea’s place in the Carabao Cup final

The German defender has been in sensational form for the club this season, but is out of contract in the summer and has been linked with a number of European clubs.

The former Roma man was reportedly set on leaving the club in the summer, with Real Madrid his preferred destination, but speculation on that front has cooled and Chelsea are now upping their efforts to keep him, as per The Mirror.

The report states that Rudiger, who has arguably been Chelsea’s player of the season so far, has already rejected an offer worth around £140,000-per-week from the Blues, knowing that he could demand higher wages elsewhere as a free agent.

Now, however, the Blues are preparing an improved offer to keep the defender in the capital.

The German international has played more minutes than any outfield player at the club this season, starting 20 of their 21 league games so far and missing just one Champions League group stage game.

Tuchel was faced with the daunting possibility of losing four senior defenders at the end of this season, with Cesar Azpilicueta, Andreas Christensen and Thiago Silva all also set to be out of contract in the summer.

Silva has since extended his deal for a further year however, and the club are believed to be working on securing the futures of Azpilicueta and Christensen.