January could be a very important month for footballers across Europe. Apart from Kylian Mbappe’s potential blockbuster move to Real, there is a host of other players who are in contract dispute with their clubs, which will possibly result with many of them hitting the free agency. There are a number of good players in that situation, like Niklas Sule from Bayern, or Frank Kesie from Milan, and off course, a Champions League winner Antonio Rudiger from Chelsea. Edouard Mendy: If I was representing France, I would surely be on the Ballon d’Or candidate listThe German became a cornerstone of the rock solid defense at Stamford Bridge and coach Thomas Tuchel is keen to keep him, but the player seems to have large wage demands and has no problem finding other clubs willing to pay sums he is asking. And one of his fans, who thinks he should get the money is former Blues and Gunners midfielder, Emanuel Pettit. “If he leaves, it would be a real pity for Chelsea. If I remember correctly, before Tuchel came in he was on the bench and wasn’t playing. Now he looks like one of the best defenders around. He could leave on a free and Chelsea would have to spend a minimum of £30m to find a new defender of his level, and there’s never a guarantee a buy will work out. If he asks for two more years, just give him the money” said the Frenchman.Chelsea wanted and still want Kounde but Man United are on their way to snatch the FrenchmanFormer Arsenal man, with whom he won the biggest prize in England, Premier League title, also said that there is a player from North London with whom he used to play and is similar to the German – Martin Keown. “This guy is a survivor. Since Tuchel has been the manager he’s been one of the top defenders in world football. He reminds me of the crazy defenders I used to play with back in the day like Martin Keown. Those types of guys were always really tough on other players, and playing against them was both a physical and mental battle because they could make you feel bad on the pitch. I think Rudiger is similar, and it must be very tough to be on the pitch with him because you can disappear very quickly. He always plays the ball but he also plays the players and strikers know that and it can be intimidating. For me, the priority of a defender is to scare strikers. People might not understand that but it’s true, you have to scare them to try and stop them from scoring goals. For me, Rudiger is one of the hardest defenders in the world” said Petit.
