Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia is reportedly ready to sell Antonio Rudiger in January.
Rudiger has become a key member of Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea side and played a vital role as they won the Champions League last season.
Not only is he a favourite with the manager, but also the fans, for whom the German has become something of a cult hero.
But the 28-year-old is now in the final year of his contract at Stamford Bridge, with talks ongoing over an extension.
Rudiger reportedly wants a significant wage increase to remain in west London, amid interest from Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid.
If there is no resolution by January, Granovskaia will look to cash in on Rudiger, according to La Colina de Nervion (via Express)
The report adds that the sale of Rudiger would then lead to Chelsea renewing their pursuit of Jules Kounde, having missed out on the Sevilla defender in the summer.
But the sale of Rudiger would be against the wishes of Tuchel, who has consistently hailed the “amazing” performances of the centre-back.
“Nothing is better than what he is doing for a new contract,” the manager said back in May. “If he wants to have a new contract he has our full support to stay at the club.
“He is speaking with his performances; he has been amazing since day one. We chose him in the first match after just one day of training.
“It was an unfair decision against Kurt but he’s German and I had a clearer picture of what he can do, of course, because I’ve followed him more than Kurt Zouma.
“I had a clear picture of what he can deliver to a team and he took the chance. Since then it’s well deserved he is in the team. He is an aggressive leader, has this natural aggressivity in him. He hates to lose, is hard to beat in duels, is very brave, and full of energy in his defending.
“He is leading by example and has a very positive aggressivity in him. This is what we like. When he can channel all this into top performances, as he does now, we are all very happy to have him.”