For a player who had a verbal agreement in place with Chelsea, it is taking awfully long for them to confirm a contract extension; Andreas Christensen has been warned by his manager and club to sign now so that business can continue as normal.
Andreas Christensen contract was supposed to be signed, sealed, and announced weeks ago but now the situation has remained in limbo for the last month. It was reported last month by The Top Flight: that because other clubs such as Barcelona are interested in signing him, the player has stalled on agreeing to a new deal.
This creates a huge issue for the Blues and Blues boss: Thomas Tuchel — the player’s contract expires at the end of the season and he will be free to discuss any pre-deals with any club across Europe — this is also the reason behind his exclusion from team selection.
"Denmark international Christensen, whose existing deal expires at the end of the season, has seemingly stalled on putting pen to paper.The 25-year-old was an unused substitute for the club’s last three fixtures and, ahead of Wednesday’s trip to Watford, may remain on the bench until the matter is resolved."
Thomas Tuchel wants the deal sorted out sooner rather than later
With January around the corner, it’s almost at the point in time when Christensen can talk to other clubs. The deal is on the table and a so-called “verbal/gentlemen’s agreement” has been in place for a month now.
There shouldn’t be any delay, and one can only imagine him holding off on signing on the dotted line is because he has found a new club with a lucrative and irrefutable offer on the table.
Signing a new deal would make him less attractive to buying clubs, as it would cost them more to buy him out of a new long-term deal.
Tuchel on Andreas Christensen’s standoff:
"My understanding was that it was a matter of a very short period before we had good news.As I understood it, the club wants the same, the player wants the same, the coach wants the same: to stay.He tells us that he wants to stay. He is a big part of a big club and I think he is a perfect fit and I think his career here is by far not finished.But, like I said, it’s on him. We want the commitment and hopefully we get it. (Via: skysports.com)"
The Dane has come out prior to the manager’s words and stated: he wants to stay at Stamford Bridge and was rumoured to not be interested in Barca’s offer for him. Added to this, the Blues have already rejected advances from the Catalans.
Despite having a squad that can fight on all fronts with ease and match-up player-for-player with the top European clubs, Chelsea could have a serious central defender issue next season.
César Azpilicueta is ageing and Antonio Rudiger has a contract dispute of his own and is being linked with a move to Bayern Munich — this could also explain the links between the London side and the injured Wesley Fofana.
Even though the 25-year-old Denmark international is being punished by his manager, he has been in fine form, one of the main reasons he is being linked with a possible free transfer out of Stamford Bridge.
He has made 14 appearances this season across all competitions and from one of those 14 showings, he scored his first-ever Chelsea goal.