Juventus have reportedly agreed a four-year contract with Antonio Rudiger, with the Germany international leaving Chelsea in the summer.
Rudiger has been in contract limbo at Chelsea for a while now and was unable to agree a new deal at Stamford Bridge having demanded to be among the club's best-paid players.
Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona were all interested in Rudiger but according to Gazzetta dello Sport, Juventus have won the race for his signature.
He will pen a long-term contract with the Bianconeri earning €6.5 million per year and become their latest stellar free transfer addition.
The report adds that Juve are also working on a deal for midfielder Jorginho, who is contracted until 2023.
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Over the years Juve have snapped up the likes of Andrea Pirlo, Dani Alves, Sami Khedira, Emre Can, Adrien Rabiot and Aaron Ramsey without paying a penny in transfer fees.
Rudiger will head back to Serie A, where he previously played for Roma after joining from Stuttgart in 2015.
Chelsea brought him to West London for a £29 million in 2017 and Rudiger has given the Blues five years of service, making 190 appearances for the club.
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The 29-year-old had fallen out of favour under Frank Lampard but returned to the fold under Thomas Tuchel and was instrumental in the Champions League triumph last term, making the competition's squad of the season following a series of imperious defensive displays.
With restrictions imposed on them by both the EU and the United Kingdom, Chelsea are now operating under a special licence following Roman Abramovich's assets being seized.
The club are hoping to have the ownership issue resolved but the situation prevents Chelsea from buying and selling new player, as well as negotiating new contracts.
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Fellow defender Andreas Christensen's contract also expires this summer and he has been heavily tipped to join Barcelona on a free.
Topics: Antonio Rudiger, Chelsea, Juventus
Josh Lawless