Chelsea close to completing €40m deal for Antonio Rudiger with player arriving for medical

Chelsea are on the verge of completing a deal for AS Roma defender Antonio Rudiger with a medical set to take place as early as possible. The German Confederations Cup winner will sign a new five-year deal with the club which will see him earn €5m (£4.4m, $6m) annually in London.

German publication Kicker reports that a deal has been agreed in the range of €40m (£35m, $45m) including bonuses and the player will join Antonio Conte's side for pre-season. The Italian has identified him as an important part of the back three which currently has Gary Cahill, David Luiz and Cesar Azpilicueta as the first choice defenders.

The 24-year-old played four out of five games for Germany in Russia, only missing out on the opening group stage match against Chile, where Shkodran Mustafi made an error to gift Alexis Sanchez the opener. Rudiger replaced Mustafi post that incident and was an important part of the defence post that, giving him an outside chance of making the World Cup squad next year.

Manchester City are also keen on the defender but Rudiger seems to have chosen Chelsea for a move, snubbing an advance from Pep Guardiola. The Roma centre-back recently stated that he is yet to decide on his future but will provide an update in the coming weeks.

"It's not about the future now, it's now about enjoyment," Rudiger said, as quoted on FourFourTwo. "I need to enjoy this moment and I'm enjoying it to the fullest. The rest we will see in the coming weeks."

The Blues are expected to be very active in the transfer window this summer with a deal for Monaco's Tiemoue Bakayoko seemingly on the horizon. The midfielder has made 51 appearances for the Ligue 1 Champions and is being touted as a replacement for Nemanja Matic, who has been linked with a move to Manchester United. Chelsea have already completed the signing of Willy Caballero from the Citizens but are set for more potent transfers in the coming days.