Reports: Antonio Rudiger refuses to play against Tottenham as he edges close to Chelsea exit

According to a TeamTalk exclusive, Antonio Rudiger refused to face Tottenham Hotspur in Chelsea's Round of 16 Carabao Cup tie. Antonio Rudiger is yet to feature for Chelsea in the Premier League this season and has not made the squad since making the bench in their season opener against Brighton and Hove Albion.

However, Frank Lampard wanted to field him against Tottenham but the German international refused to take part.

Antonio Rudiger refused to play against Tottenham in the Carabao Cup. #CFC [TEAMtalk]

— Chelsea Alerts (@ChelseaAlerts) September 30, 2020

Antonio Rudiger seeks move away from Chelsea and refuses to play

The transfer window will shut at 11 pm on Monday and Antonio Rudiger is looking to leave Chelsea. As such, he made it clear to the club that he did not want to feature for the side against Spurs with all that's going on. Chelsea lost the game on penalties (5-4) after the match was tied at 1-1 at the end of the 90.

Antonio Rudiger in action for Chelsea against Norwich

Several reports from earlier had linked the 27-year-old with a move to AS Roma and Paris Saint-Germain. However, Tottenham Hotspur have also reportedly joined the race and are looking to offer a Premier League lifeline to Rudiger.

Chelsea had signed Thiago Silva and this means that Rudiger will see his chances to feature in the starting XI coming at a premium. He has fallen down the pecking order at Stamford Bridge with the likes of Andreas Christensen, Kurt Zouma, Thiago Silva and Fikayo Tomori being preferred over him.

According to another report from earlier this week, Antonio Rudiger was 'surprised' with the lack of playing time. The report went on to claim that Rudiger was also 'sad' about the fact that he was not a part of Frank Lampard's plans.

After Chelsea's penalty shootout loss to Jose Mourinho's Tottenham Hotspur, Frank Lampard was asked if he thought Antonio Rudiger's future lies away from Stamford Bridge. He responded by saying,

"No, it's not at that point."

He refused to give much away and on being further pressed about the issue, he simply added, "Nope, nope," and that was that.

Antonio Rudiger joined Chelsea from Roma in the summer of 2017 for £29 million on a 5-year deal.

Meanwhile, former Chelsea striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has warned Lampard against selling Rudiger as he believes the German is their best option at centre-back. He told Sky Sports (via Metro),

‘They’ve all made mistakes but for me their best centre-back is Rudiger. At the end of last season he didn’t have his best spell, he was out of the team but if you look at a whole season he has done the best. He normally smells danger and he clears it up. For Rudiger not to have played yet something is going on.’

Frank Lampard will be losing his ‘best defender’ if the Chelsea boss lets Antonio Rudiger leave the club in this transfer window, warns Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink The centre-back was absent from the squad for a 3rd successive game as Lampard’s side crashed out of the Carabao Cup. pic.twitter.com/MCOL99lU6N

— Frank Khalid (@FrankKhalidUK) September 30, 2020