Barcelona are reportedly considering making a move for Chelsea defender Andreas Christensen, whose contract with the Blues expires in the summer of 2022.
According to a report from Fichajes, Barcelona are weighing up a free transfer swoop for Chelsea’s Danish defender Andreas Christensen as he nears the expiry of his contract with the reigning European champions.
Christensen joined the Chelsea youth setup in 2012 from Danish outfit Brondby. Having progressed through the ranks, the centre-back spent two seasons out on loan at Borussia Monchengladbach between 2015 and 2017, where he enjoyed great success, prompting the Blues to hand him a shot at first-team football at Stamford Bridge.
Since then, the 25-year-old has largely been a regular in the side for Chelsea, even though there have been times when he has been in and out of the lineup. To date, Christensen has racked up 135 appearances for the Blues and has assisted one goal, winning the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League in the process.
A mainstay at the back under Thomas Tuchel, Christensen has started five of Chelsea’s seven Premier League games this season. However, his contract situation has brought about a lot of speculation as his current deal runs out at the end of the season. The defender has reaffirmed that talks over a new deal are going well.
But that has not discouraged Barcelona from registering an interest in him as they look for cost-effective options to bolster their defence. Indeed, having been linked with a free transfer swoop for Christensen’s Chelsea teammates Cesar Azpilicueta as well as Antonio Rudiger, the Catalan giants have now set their sights on the Danish international as well.
With Gerard Pique now in the twilight of his career, Barcelona will need a long-term replacement for the former Spanish international. In addition to that, Samuel Umtiti and his compatriot Clement Lenglet are both out of favour under manager Ronald Koeman and are likely to be cashed in on whenever an opportunity presents itself.
So, it becomes imperative that the Blaugrana add a new centre-back to their roster next summer to go along with the trio of Ronald Araujo, Eric Garcia and Oscar Mingueza. Given Christensen’s age, experience and contract situation, the Chelsea star becomes an ideal target for Barcelona.
However, as iterated earlier, Christensen has previously spoken about talks over a new deal going well, meaning that Barcelona might not be able to get their hands on him on a free transfer next summer.
