We 'signed' Antonio Rudiger for Man United next season and he replaced Harry Maguire

Manchester United are interested in bringing Chelsea's Antonio Rudiger to Old Trafford next season, with the defender out of contract in July.

Interim boss Ralf Rangnick is a big fan of the defender, and with United's defensive issues this season, the German defender would certainly be a good signing heading into next season, despite the large wages his signing is likely to command.

Rudiger has established himself as one of the best defenders in world football in the 18 months since Thomas Tuchel arrived at Stamford Bridge, but with the German defender and Chelsea yet to make any progress in contract talks, the 28-year-old could leave the Blues on a free in the summer.

Harry Maguire's individual performances have been criticised in recent months, with United struggling as a unit defensively, keeping just seven clean sheets in 27 games, compared to Chelsea's 11 clean sheets in 25.

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 FM22.

Described by the media as a commanding centre back,