Rudiger: Chelsea signings a clear message for existing players to step up

Antonio Rudiger is pleased with Chelsea having an eventful transfer window after the club were hit with a transfer ban in the last one.

Chelsea announced the signing of former Nice defender Malang Sarr on a free transfer on a five-year deal on Thursday.

Sarr was their second acquisition in two days’ time as Chelsea confirmed on Wednesday that they had sealed the deal for Leicester City’s Ben Chilwell.

The two defenders joined striker Timo Werner and midfielder Hakim Ziyech in the list of new arrivals at Stamford Bridge.

After having already spent well over €100 million this summer, the Blues are still not done with their recruitment process as they are reportedly chasing Bayer Leverkusen’s Kai Havertz and Thiago Silva.

Frank Lampard was unable to sign a replacement for Eden Hazard, who moved to Real Madrid, due the club serving a transfer ban last summer.

And Antonio Rudiger feels the manager is trying to make a strong point with his transfer activity.

“I am always happy to see new faces in the team,” Rudiger told Transfermarkt. “After the transfer ban last summer, we were of course hoping to get some real reinforcements. With Hakim, I immediately had a good feeling and my relation to and opinion about Timo is already known.

“With such names, the club is also sending a clear message to the existing personnel that they want to take another step forward in the overall development. I think that is great!”