Danish defender Andreas Christensen took giant strides towards first-team action last season as he made 40 appearances under Antonio Conte for Chelsea. However, under new manager Maurizio Sarri, the young right has been out of favour as Antonio Rudiger and David Luiz have been the first choice defensive pairing. Latest reports are indicating that the 22-year-old would look for a move out of the club in winter if things don’t improve by Christmas.
Christensen’s father and agent recently gave an interview in his native land and clearly said that he would request for a transfer if things don’t improve. He was quoted as saying,”If his situation doesn’t change around Christmas, we’ll obviously schedule a chat with Chelsea and say, okay, what can we do for Andreas? Can we move him?’’
”For me it’s not a loan again. Either it’s Chelsea or else he needs to leave. I don’t think a loan is an optimal situation for Andreas. It’s sort of either or. I think, unfortunately, Chelsea have too many players who just go out on loan if [the club] isn’t going to use them and I don’t think Andreas should get caught in that.
“I’m of the conviction that we’ll attempt to move Andreas in the winter time [if he’s not playing]. Around Christmas, something else needs to happen.”
The Danish defender has made just three appearances so far this season, and all of them have been in cup competitions. He has been at Chelsea since 2013, and the last campaign turned out to be a breakthrough season for him. However, a new manager doesn’t bring good news to everyone as Sarri has preferred David Luiz over him. The Brazilian might be prone to defensive errors here and there, but it’s clear that the Italian gaffer likes him for his ball playing and distribution abilities.
The results so far has been good for Chelsea, and it is unlikely that the manager would play Christensen in crunch games. However, letting him go in January would be a big mistake on the Pensioners’ part. The Danish has all the good qualities for a defender, and with more game time, he can be a regular in the future. Luiz is already 31 and Gary Cahill is also pushing for a move in January. Therefore keeping hold of Christensen should be of top priority for the club.
With Europa League, FA Cup and the Carabao cup fixtures to take part in, Christensen would get some game time, but he probably needs to wait another year or two to establish himself as the first choice. It all depends on the player; whether he is willing to bide his time until then and be part of just cup competitions or look for a move-out.
His father though definitely has some strong opinion, and there would be quite a few takers for this Danish centre-half. A tough situation for Chelsea indeed but they should try everything in their means to keep hold of the defender for now.
