Antonio Rudiger's Chelsea contract decision is a damming indictment on Marina Granovskaia

There has always been an excuse for why Chelsea's defensive contract crisis has unfolded this season.

Be that the reality that both Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger showed levels of form after Thomas Tuchel's appointment that they had not before. The fact that both Rudiger and Christensen had rejected offers from the club, in the case of Rudiger – the last being worth £230,000-a-week according to The Athletic.

That they were messed around, the sanctions that have halted all transfer dealings in the past month. The sales of Fikayo Tomori and Marc Guehi in 2021, two younger options, were sold due to other circumstances out of the club's control. These are all infantile excuses, that continually ask us to believe a club of Chelsea's wealth and excellence could not foresee this defensive crisis unfolding. And if they couldn't, why not?

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Rudiger deciding to leave is not the most shocking revelation. If you had gauged the mood from the early parts of this season when the defender was unwilling to come to the negotiating table, waiting to see who else around Europe would come forward. Due to his importance to Thomas Tuchel and his vastly enhanced reputation, the power was always on his side.

But to bemoan the events of this season that will likely lead to both Rudiger and Christensen leaving. Cesar Azpilicueta, despite triggering a clause on his current deal to stay a further 12 months, could still be sold this summer. But given his peer's decision to leave, one would suspect Azpilicueta will be held onto tightly under new ownership.

The real frustration is longer-reaching, a broader problem that feels like it