Rudiger has signed a five-year contract and will wear the No.2 shirt (Picture: Chelsea)

Chelsea have confirmed the signing of Germany defender Antonio Rudiger, who joins from AS Roma for a fee of around £34 million.

The 24-year-old becomes the Premier League champions’ second signing of the summer, following the free transfer of former Manchester City goalkeeper Willy Caballero.

Rudiger shone during his time in Serie A, having also been on Antonio Conte’s radar last summer before picking up an injury that derailed any prospect of a move.

Reports over the weekend suggested Chelsea had agreed a deal with Roma for Rudiger, who was then said to have flown to LA to complete a medical with the Blues.

Rudiger spent two seasons with Roma (Picture: Getty)

Conte has been keen to bring in a big-name signing at the back for much of this summer, with the likes of Juventus’ Leonardo Bonucci and Southampton’s Virgil van Dijk also targeted.

However, Rudiger proved a far cheaper option and has been quickly snapped up following last week’s departure of youngster Nathan Ake to Bournemouth, while Kurt Zouma is also looking likely to go out on loan.

Club legend John Terry also left Stamford Bridge at the end of his contract, leaving gaps to fill in defence for Chelsea, who will need more depth next season with the added pressures of Champions League football in midweek.

Rudiger won this summer’s Confederations Cup with Germany (Picture: Getty)

Chelsea 2017/18 transfers

IN:

Antonio Rudiger
Willy Caballero
Ethan Ampadu
Billy Gimour
Daishawn Redan

OUT:

Asmir Begovic
Nathan Ake
John Terry
Dominic Solanke
Bertrand Traore
Juan Cuadrado
Christian Atsu
Alex Kiwomya
Alex Davey

Some reports state that Conte is still keen to bring in one of Bonucci and Van Dijk as well, while Bayern Munich centre-back Jerome Boateng is also thought to be on the club’s radar.

Rudiger has 17 caps for the German national team, playing a part in their Confederations Cup win this summer, and has previously played in the Bundesliga with Stuttgart.

He is the second star player to be offloaded by Roma this summer, with Mohamed Salah also making his way from Italy to England with a £37m move to Liverpool.

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