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Chelsea kicks off summer spending with Rudiger signing

AS Roma / Getty / Luciano Rossi

Chelsea began its summer spending in earnest Sunday, as the west London side clinched a deal worth an initial €35 million to sign German defender Antonio Rudiger from Roma.

The 24-year-old signed a five-year contract with the Blues.

Roma confirmed the fee, which could rise by another €4 million if both the club and player activate certain performance-related clauses.

He will wear the No. 2 kit at Stamford Bridge.

"It's a great feeling because not every player has the opportunity to join a huge club like this," Rudiger said. "I am looking forward to meeting up with my new teammates and I'm very proud to officially become a Chelsea player."

Capable of playing at centre-back and right-back, Rudiger will give manager Antonio Conte lots of options ahead of the 2017-18 campaign. Should Conte stick with the 3-4-3 formation that brought success last season, Rudiger could challenge Cesar Azpilicueta for minutes on the right side of the three-man defence.

He emerged as one of Roma's most important players last season as the Giallorossi earned a club-record 87 points in Serie A.

The capital side, risking punishment from UEFA for failing to meet Financial Fair Play regulations, had no choice but to entertain bids for some of their star players.

Rudiger is the club's third major departure after Mohamed Salah and Leandro Paredes.

In all, I Lupi have raised an initial €100 million from those three sales. They could stand to make another €16 million in bonuses.

Roma's loss is Chelsea's gain.

Rudiger represents Chelsea's first bit of business, excluding backup goalkeeper Willy Caballero's free transfer from Manchester City.

A deal is apparently in place for Monaco midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko, while Juventus left-back Alex Sandro is also a reported option.

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