Tottenham offered chance to sign La Liga defender who has won the UCL with Real Madrid and an EPL giant

Tottenham Hotspur have been presented with an unexpected opportunity to bolster their injury-hit back line, with intermediaries sounding out the club about a potential summer move for Real Madrid and former Chelsea centre-back Antonio Rudiger.

Spurs have spent much of the campaign wrestling with defensive frailties. Cristian Romero’s erratic form and disciplinary issues—highlighted by his costly display against Manchester United—have undermined his authority, while only Micky van de Ven has delivered consistently. Behind the first-choice pairing, Kevin Danso is content in a supporting role, but Radu Dragusin is understood to be eyeing an exit after being denied a January transfer. Failure to secure Champions League qualification could yet tempt Romero and Van de Ven to seek new challenges, leaving the north Londoners facing a potential rebuild at centre-half.

Into that uncertainty steps Rudiger, 32, whose contract at the Bernabéu expires in June. According to TEAMtalk, the Germany international’s camp have initiated exploratory discussions with several Premier League sides, including Tottenham, to gauge interest in a return to London four years after leaving Stamford Bridge. Real Madrid have yet to table an extension despite Rudiger re-establishing himself as a key starter since November, helping the club remain in contention for every major honour.

A serial winner, Rudiger lifted the Champions League with Chelsea in 2021 and repeated the feat with Madrid in 2022, adding domestic and European silverware across two spells in England and Spain. His leadership, vocal organisation and big-match experience are precisely the qualities Tottenham currently lack at the heart of defence.

Yet the proposition is fraught with complications. Rudiger turns 33 next month, meaning any deal would carry negligible resale value. With emerging Croatian prospect Luka Vuskovic impressing on loan at Hamburger SV, Spurs must also weigh the long-term development of their own talent pathway. Crucially, Romero has reportedly reached a verbal agreement to join Real Madrid, making a straight swap illogical: replacing a 26-year-old Argentina international with a veteran on a free transfer would do little to future-proof Ange Postecoglou’s squad.

Chelsea have already declined the chance to re-sign their former defender, citing age as the primary deterrent, and Tottenham chiefs must now decide whether short-term stability outweighs strategic planning. For a club desperate to plug leaks at the back, the temptation is clear; for a project designed to grow alongside youthful core pieces, Rudiger may prove a luxury they cannot afford.