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Chelsea have completed the signing of the highly rated German defender Antonio Rudiger from Roma. Blues fans may not be too familiar with him, but he is more than capable of stepping in the champions' first team next season.

The 24-year-old has already made over one hundred appearances in top European Leagues and has seventeen caps for Germany - including four starts at the recent Confederations Cup.

Whilst nominally a centre-back, Rudiger made 11 of his 29 starts at right back for Roma in 2016/17, with a two more at left back.

Chelsea had a lot of success with a back three in their title winning campaign, and the good news for Blues' fans is Rudiger has experience of playing in that system.

Roma employed three at the back in 14 league matches last season, and the Chelsea newboy played in 12 of them. The Serie A runners up only conceded six goals in total in those 12 games, and they included wins at both Lazio and Inter, so the formbook suggests Rudiger will fit very nicely into Antonio Conte's back three.

As he tends to play on the right in such a formation, the German international is likely to line up alongside David Luiz and Gary Cahill, at the expense of supposedly Barcelona-boundCesar Azpilicueta.

Looking at his individual statistics, Rudiger's main strength would appear to be his passing. He completed 3.8 long balls per 90 minutes played in Serie A last season, and this could prove very useful for his new club, as only three teams in the Premier League completed more long balls per game than Chelsea did in 2016/17.

Although Rudiger completed fewer per 90 minutes than David Luiz (4.8), he was ahead of Cahill (3.1) and Azpilicueta (3.0).

The new owner of Chelsea's no.2 shirt is not afraid to bring the ball out from the back and take opposition players out of the game either. Only fifteen centre backs in the big leagues of Europe completed more dribbles per 90 minutes than Rudiger did last season (0.6), and none of them played for the English champions.

In fact, Chelsea's latest signing completed as many dribbles as Cahill and Azpilicueta did between them, so he may add an exciting new dimension to the Blues' backline.

(Image: Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)

After showing issues with concentration in 2015/16, the young German improved markedly last season. Opta record on-the-ball mistakes which lead to opposition shots, and although Rudiger made five of them in his debut league campaign for Roma, he slipped up with just a single one last season.

Only four teams made fewer defensive errors than Chelsea in the 2016/17 Premier League, so their new centre back will need to maintain his more recent form to fit in. Roma were kept far busier defensively than Chelsea last season, conceding 12.5 shots per game compared to just 8.5 for the Blues, so Rudiger will need to keep his concentration up as he will have less defending to do.

(Image: Chelsea FC)

The German will also need to improve in the air as he is arrives in a league where certain managers still like to use giant target men forwards who bully defenders. Considering Rudiger stand at 6ft 3in, it is surprising his record with aerial duels is not great.

He has won 55% of duels in the air across his career, which is on par with Azpilicueta last season, but Cahill and Luiz both boasted scores in the 60s.

Perhaps the former Roma man can expect to be targeted with crosses from the opposition right to his area near the back post if his aerial form does not improve. But this is a minor gripe.

Chelsea have secured an exciting defensive talent in Rudiger, and someone who could form a cornerstone of their defence for the next five years at least.

Who would you like to see in Chelsea's back three next season? Let us know in the comments below.