JOSE MOURINHO held talks with Antonio Rudiger over a summer switch from Chelsea to Tottenham, the defender has admitted.
Former Blues boss Frank Lampard did not consider the German central to his plans and a move to Paris Saint-Germain was also discussed.
But Chelsea opted against loaning Rudiger, 28, out and he watched much of the first half of the season from the sidelines.
He told reporters: “I was obviously shocked, though maybe shocked is the wrong word.
“Some things I saw coming, obviously not being in the squad at all was not something I saw coming.
“But at the end of the day I took it on the chin. There were two teams – but mainly one team I was considering. That was PSG.
“There was a call with Mourinho, and with [Thomas] Tuchel, but this is something that didn’t happen.”
The centre-back is expected to start in Wednesday’s clash with Atletico Madrid.
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Chelsea hold a 1-0 lead over the LaLiga leaders as they look to progress to the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time in seven years.
Key to Tuchel’s early success in the Stamford Bridge dugout has been a remarkable defensive record, conceding just three goals in 13 games.
Rudiger has been a mainstay in the new manager’s line-up having fought his way back in under Lampard.
Speaking of the summer transfer talk, he added: “I was a bit upset because I knew my situation was that I would not be playing that often.
“But then I had talks with the Lampard and all of a sudden I was back on the bench and then I also had a couple of games.
“I just worked my way back. I played the last games of his reign and now things are going well for me.
“I’m very happy about it, but to be honest I always felt well in the club, they treated me nice, especially the board.
“No one told me you should leave, neither did Frank Lampard. At the end of the day the loans didn’t happen. But nobody told me I should leave.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
