Antonio Rudiger has less than eight months until his contract with Chelsea reaches its conclusion.
The Germany international has arguably been the Blues' strongest defender since Thomas Tuchel was appointed manager at the start of the year, but with just months remaining on his deal, his future at Stamford Bridge is well up in the air.
Rudiger himself recently insisted that he is happy at Chelsea as it stands, but the former Roma man left the door open to a possible move away from west London, with Bayern Munich and Real Madrid both said to be interested in signing the centre-back.
"I’ve always said that Chelsea is my number one contact," Antonio Rudiger told Welt Am Sonntag, as quoted by Tribuna. "I’m currently only focused on Chelsea. We’ll see what happens.
"I will now concentrate on what is imminent. I owe that to the club, the coach and the team."
Now, Chelsea have apparently offered Rudiger fresh terms that they were hoping he would like, but it appears to have gone in the opposite direction.
According to Sport BILD, via Sport Witness, the German defender has been left annoyed with the terms put on the table by the Blues and sees it as a 'slap in the face'.
The report from Rudiger's homeland claims that the former Roma star is looking to earn €12million (£10m) a year, but he has only been offered €8.5m (£7.1m) by the west London club.
This latest development may alert the likes of Bayern and Real, who are said to be monitoring his situation. Chelsea supporters, when taking to Reddit to react to the news, are divided on what the Blues should do.
Some fans believe that they should pay up and offer Rudiger what he wants, but some think that he does not deserve to dictate the negotiations and they should not match the figure.
Tuchel, when speaking about the defender's situation in September, insisted Rudiger did not have many reasons to leave Stamford Bridge.
"I hope that they find a solution but it's not only between coaches and players," Tuchel said on Rudiger earlier in the year. "It's between the club and the player's agent.
"He plays excellent for a long time - very consistent [and] at a very high level. I feel him very calm, very focused and it's obviously not a distraction for him.
"So give things time - sometimes it needs a bit longer, sometimes things get very fast. There's no news from my side."
Tuchel added: "I think Toni feels very, very good at Chelsea. He feels respect from his team-mates, he feels the importance he has in the team. It's well deserved because he delivers.
"He feels the love from the supporters. He plays in the strongest league in Europe and in a big club, so not many reasons to change. But it's in good hands. I'm calm and relaxed - whatever has to happen will happen."
