Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel has admitted nobody at the club likes defender Antonio Rudiger’s decision to leave the club at the end of the season with reports suggesting the 29-year-old is close to agreeing a deal to join Real Madrid on free transfer.
“Nobody likes this decision but we have to accept it. Like it or not there will be life at Chelsea after Toni. It is also the most important thing for us that it ends like it started, on the highest level,” Tuchel said.
“It is my job. No matter how the situation is solved and how active we can be in the transfer market, at the end we will dig in and we will try to squeeze out everything from the squad that we have.
“I will fall in love with the squad I have then and push it to the limit. It was a pleasure every single day with Toni, I am concerned that we have talked too much about it in the past because there are still big things to achieve.
“From pre-season next season, life will go on whether we are happy about it or not and I will be fully involved with all my heart and all my knowledge.”
The all-action Rudiger has been in demand with a number of big clubs pursuing his signature including Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus.