Thomas Tuchel is always engagingly honest and open in his press conferences, and today was no different.
He was asked about the situation involving Antonio Rudiger, whose agent was seen in Barcelona this week, and instead of fending off the question, Tuchel was totally open about the situation, admitting he would be doing exactly the same thing if he was another team.
“If it’s true, of course. I would try to meet him if I was at any other club,” Tuchel said in quotes picked up by Football.London.
“He’s still our player and we still think there’s a good chance he stays our player once things are solved. This situation is the situation at the moment, our hands are tied. We cannot speak or negotiate with him and his agent. Fair enough if it’s true that he listens to other offers. That’s the way things go but I am still confident.”
It’s promising to hear that Tuchel thinks there’s still a strong chance that Rudiger stays. He wouldn’t say it if he didn’t mean it, we don’t think, and Rudiger himself has always insisted that his mind still isn’t made up.
Yes his agent has met Barcelona representatives, presumably just to see what they’re offering. He wouldn’t be doing his job properly if he hadn’t. But we shouldn’t assume that means that our cult hero defender is leaving.
