We 'signed' Antonio Rudiger for Man United next season following Chelsea sanctions

Following sanctions that were imposed on Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich by the UK Government, defender Antonio Rudiger looks increasingly likely to leave the club on a free transfer at the end of this season.

Manchester United are interested in signing Rudiger, with i nterim boss Ralf Rangnick known to be a big fan of the defender. Despite the potential wage demand, which are likely to be substantial, the German defender has established himself as one of the best defenders in world football in the 18 months since Thomas Tuchel arrived at Stamford Bridge, and could add more quality to the Reds' squad.

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United haven't got a good defensive record compared to the teams around them in the Premier League table, with Rangnick's side conceding 38 goals in just 28 league games so far this season, some 20 goals more than both Chelsea and Manchester City.

So, if Rudiger was to make the move to United in the summer, what sort of impact could he have on Rangnick's side? Could the German defender help United improve defensively and win a trophy?

We simulated the 2022/23 season with Rudiger in the United squad and this is what happened.

To set up this simulation, we used the Football Manager 2022 editor to arrange for Rudiger to join United at the start of the summer transfer window, using FM22 to run the simulation.

We also released Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard, Edinson Cavani, Juan Mata, Tahith Chong and Lee Grant at the beginning of the season with these players all out of contract in the summer of 2022, and Mauricio Pochettinho was hired as manager in the simulation for the 2022/23 season.

This is how Rudiger's in-game profile looks on