Chelsea told duo ‘tough to replace’ but Blues backed for trophy tilt if Boehly spends

Chelsea legend Ron Chopper Harris believes they will struggle to replace Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen in the summer transfer window. 

The pair have left the club upon the expiry of their contract and have now joined new teams as the Blues hunt for replacements.

Rudiger has signed for Spanish giants Real Madrid on a four-year deal, while Christensen has finally completed a move to Barcelona. 

Losing Rudiger was a real blow for the Blues in particular as the German established himself as a key player under Thomas Tuchel, endearing himself to supporters for his performances at the back as well as his marauding runs forward from defence. 

It has been a summer of transition at Stamford Bridge following the takeover of Tedd Boehly with a number of key faces set to depart, including former chairman Bruce Buck, director Marina Granovskaia as well as technical and performance advisor Petr Cech.

Boehly will play a key role in the day-to-day running of the club having appointed himself as chairman and interim sporting director and Chelsea’s record appearance maker Harris hopes that head coach Tuchel will be backed this summer.

Speaking exclusively to talkSPORT: “I think they’ve lost two good players in Christensen and Rudiger. I think they will be difficult to replace.

“Whether they’ve got defenders lined up or some youngsters that are going to come through that are going to get regular football [I don’t know].

“I think we will know after the first half a dozen games the way the season will go and we’ll keep our fingers crossed that maybe they’ve got one or two players lined up. I think they most probably need maybe a couple of players to replace the players that have just left.