Antonio Rudiger is not Romelu Lukaku, but he is three defenders in one and perfect for Antonio Conte's Chelsea

The signing of the Roma centre-half will not change opinions of Chelsea's transfer window, but Rüdiger’s appeal to Conte is self-evident

Ever since Miralem Pjanic left for rivals Juventus last summer, Roma players have frequently had to face questions about whether they would ever take the same decision and follow the Bosnian to Turin. When Antonio Rüdiger's turn came, he candidly said: “You never know in football. But my dream is to play in England one day… I like the Premier League a lot.”

Any ideas where exactly? “Leeds United,” he joked to Il Tempo. The answer everybody expected was Chelsea. Rüdiger already seemed on the brink of moving to Stamford Bridge last summer only to suffer the misfortune of tearing his ACL in Évian-les-Bains where Germany were preparing for the Euros.

Asked if the injury scuppered the transfer, Rüdiger, a fluent English speaker whose mother is from Sierra Leone, has always replied: “No.” But it’s clear Chelsea’s interest in the giant defender from Berlin’s Neükolln district is longstanding.

It's fair to say his signing hasn’t quite captured the imagination in the way a reunion between Antonio Conte and Leonardo Bonucci would, and there are some Chelsea supporters who would have preferred to see Nathan Ake get a chance to prove himself in blue rather than be sold to Bournemouth. Arriving in the same weekend as Romelu Lukaku’s decision to join Manchester United, Rüdiger isn’t about to change opinions of Chelsea’s transfer window on his own.

The mood is similar to the last day of last summer when many were underwhelmed by the signings of Marcus Alonso and, to a lesser extent, David Luiz, who Chelsea fans were delighted to see return. Both turned out to be huge successes and, in Rüdiger’s case, his appeal to a manager like Antonio Conte is self-evident.

His roles models are fellow Berliner Jérôme Boateng and Mats Hummels, who stood between him and a first team place at Borussia Dortmund. Unlike older brother Sahr Senesie, a striker, Rüdiger never appeared for the black and yellows and, overlooked by Jürgen Klopp, left for VFB Stuttgart at 18. “If you look at the stats,” he reflected in an interview with l’Ultimo Uomo, “only two players [Felix Passlack and Christian Pulisic] have made the leap from academy to first team since Mario Götze. If I look at the path I took with Stuttgart, I played more than 80 games, so I think I made the right choice.”

Roma’s belief in Rüdiger’s potential was such that they signed him even though he’d just undergone an arthroscopy to clean his knee. He flourished, particularly, in the 18 months spent working under Luciano Spalletti. The greater focus on tactics was, in Rüdiger’s words, “really… wow.” Had he got his way, Spalletti would have taken the Germany international with him to Inter. Roma's unwillingness to strengthen a rival meant Spalletti had to settle for Milan Skriniar instead.

In addition to seemingly being made out of iron, Rüdiger possesses the explosive speed and power to enable a team to play a high line. His athleticism makes him the bookie’s favourite to most 50-50 balls, be it on the ground or in the air. He relishes the physical battle. Just ask Mario Mandzukic. As far as Rüdiger is concerned, the bigger and badder the opponent, the better. It’s the little players, with a low centre of gravity, that put him in difficulty. Think Lorenzo Insigne. Intuitive, his tactical understanding and reading of the game have improved dramatically since moving to Italy.

But what coaches like Spalletti and Conte find most attractive of all is his versatility. Roma played a back four and a back three in Rüdiger’s time at the Olimpico. They flipped between configurations in-game. Rüdiger never had one fixed position. His preferred role, as the left centre-back in a back-three - where Gary Cahill plays for Chelsea - was the one he played the least. Often Rüdiger featured a la Victor Moses as a right wing-back. He may not have the same ball-playing ability as Luiz, Boateng, Hummels or Bonucci, but Spalletti would not have asked him to step out of defence, and make driving runs into midfield or up the flank, if he were not comfortable with the ball at his feet.

You can understand why Roma fans are disappointed to see him go. Only a fortnight ago new sporting director Monchi told them there was “zero chance” Rüdiger would be sold this summer. Kostas Manolas’ decision not to go through with a move to Zenit St.Petersburg, supposedly because of their insistence to pay him in roubles instead of Euros, changed the situation and forced Monchi to go back on his word.

While Roma are turning a big profit on Rüdiger, Chelsea look like they're getting value too. For £34m, the English champions are effectively signing three players in one. Sure, Rüdiger isn’t Lukaku, but he is the identikit of a Conte defender.