After two successful years on loan, Borussia Monchengladbach are looking to permanently sign Chelsea’s Andreas Christensen.
According to the Sun, Chelsea have slapped a £21 million price tag on Andreas Christensen with Borussia Monchengladbach seemingly interested in signing the player on a permanent transfer following the Dane’s fruitful two year stint at the Borussia Park.
The Danish centre-back was sent out on loan during Jose Mourinho’s time at the club. Upon return to the Premier League champions in the summer, Christensen will probably evaluate his scope for first-team opportunities under Antonio Conte especially with the John Terry leaving in the summer.
Regardless of the player’s interest, Gladbach are looking to acquire the services of their star defender with a Europa League campaign to look forward to next year.
Christensen has turned out for Die Borussen on 40 occasions this season and has underlined how important a member of that back-line he is to Dieter Hecking’s set-up. That said, Borussia aren’t willing to pay over the top for the player as indicated when the club’s Sporting Director Max Eberl laughed off Chelsea’s valuation of the player.
The Blues’ £21 million price tag clearly isn’t something the German club are going to comply with and are willing to wait the course of pre-season to allow Christensen to gauge his future at Stamford Bridge before lining up an offer.
Chelsea’s back-line barring the occasional inclusion of Kurt Zouma and John Terry has remained constant throughout the on-going Premier League campaign.
The trio of Gary Cahill, David Luiz and Cesae Azpilicueta have forged a formidable partnership at the back of Conte’s now famous 3-4-3 formation and were a key factor behind Chelsea’s defensive resilience.
Moreover, the Italian boss isn’t one to fancy too many changes to his starting XI having made only 38 changes over the course of an entire Premier League campaign. Although that may change with the addition of Champions League football next season he is unlikely to tinker with a winning formula too much.
That in hindsight could be a factor that could deter Christensen from staying at the Bridge especially with the Blues being linked with players like Leonardo Bonucci and Benjamin Mendy off-late.
At the age of 21, first-team football will be priority for the Danish international over silverware. His performances for Gladbach have already attracted the attention of Barcelona in recent months which goes to suggest that a move to a big club in the future wouldn’t be off the charts.
While only time will tell which direction the pendulum of Andreas Christensen would swing over the summer, he sure would turn out to be a worthy asset regardless of where he ends up.
