Ex-Chelsea striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has questioned his former club’s decision to allow Antonio Rudiger to leave Stamford Bridge.

It has been reported that manager Frank Lampard has told the German international that he is surplus requirements with it being suggested that the Blues are prepared to let him join rivals Tottenham on loan.

However, Hasselbaink says that despite Rudiger having a dip in form at the end of last season, the defender remains the best centre-half on the London club’s books:

“They’ve all made mistakes but for me their best centre-back is Rudiger. At the end of last season he didn’t have his best spell, he was out of the team, but if you look at a whole season he has done the best. He normally smells danger and clears it up. For Rudiger not to have played yet, something is going on.”

Thiago Silva may have a thing or two to say about that but you do get where Hasselbaink is coming from. The likes of Andreas Christensen, Kurt Zouma and Fikayo Tomori have hardly been mistake-free over the last twelve months so it is a bit harsh on Rudiger that he has been singled out.

Allowing him to leave for Spurs would either suggest that they don’t see their London rivals as a threat, or they don’t believe Rudiger will make much of an impact.