Andreas Christensen

[OhForAGreavsie 5,775]

On 09/01/2020 at 5:58 AM, OneMoSalah said:

You must be dreamimg haha.

AC Milan may be interested in Andreas but they arent daft, they will have been tracking him and seen how he has fared this last year. They want him on loan with an obligation to buy so they obviously want to see if he can make an impact before committing too.

No chance they would accept such a fee and Andreas for their captain who is a very good player. Would be like offering 40m and Caballero for Donnarumma... 

Then I'm guessing you mean an option to buy, not an obligation.

[Vesper 27,310]

Christensen passes physical test after Lampard rejects talk of move to AC Milan (paywalled but I obtained a uni discount for a subscription)

https://theathletic.com/1521864/2020/01/12/christensen-chelsea-transfer-lampard-ac-milan/

At a time when questions over his long-term future had started to be asked, Andreas Christensen was given just the kind of answers he wanted to hear. A day after coach Frank Lampard emphatically dismissed AC Milan’s chances of signing the defender this month, the Chelsea coach proved they weren’t just empty words by starting him against Burnley. Both Chelsea and Christensen may look back on this day later in the year as a very significant moment in their relationship. The Denmark international’s contract expires in 2022 and The Athletic understands talks over an extension have yet to begin. Once a player gets to within two years of their deal coming to an end, it is normal for both parties to decide whether to hold discussions, or not, over continuing their relationship. Certainly the club don’t like these situations to drift, especially if they are thinking about selling because transfer values can begin to depreciate. As things stand, it is believed negotiations are more likely to begin in the summer with both parties relaxed about the current situation. It helps that Lampard was so unequivocal about the 23-year-old remaining at Stamford Bridge in his pre-match press conference.

“Yes, I can rule it out (a move to AC Milan),” he said. “I like Andreas as a player. I’ve always liked him. I used to train with him and saw the talent   coming through. “He is certainly a player that gets slightly misjudged on age. I think he’s been around a long time and went on loan at a young age     and did particularly well and people think that he’s probably older than he is. He’s still relatively young so that’s absolutely on his side. “What I want     from Andreas is to be the best he can be. When you see him and you see the height, the athleticism and the quality on the ball, particularly in choice of pass, then I think he can be all the things I want him to be and I want to work towards that. He knows that. “What I will say is those little bits in his game can really make him the fantastic centre-half I think he can be.”

But Christensen will be feeling more assured over his role after passing a physical test against Burnley at Stamford Bridge. This was just his 10th start in the Premier League this season, with the majority of those appearances coming in the first few months. A hamstring injury suffered while playing for Denmark in October put him out of the reckoning for several weeks. By the time he recovered, Fikayo Tomori had established himself, Kurt Zouma was Lampard’s regular first choice and Antonio Rudiger was about to stage a comeback after knee and hip problems. Christensen has found it difficult to earn a place in the side, though his cause has not been helped by a disappointing display, along with many Chelsea players, in a 3-1 defeat at Everton last month.

It was an occasion where Everton appeared to outmuscle and unnerve him. It was in stark contrast to an assured outing in the 2-1 victory against Aston Villa three days before. In that fixture, Christensen boasted the third-most passes in the Chelsea XI (68), with a 96 per cent completion rate. He made two tackles, a clearance, two interceptions, gained possession 10 times and produced one block. He also lost possession on just three occasions, whereas his central-defensive partner Kurt Zouma gave it away 11 times. Conversely, his contribution at Goodison Park was far less effective. There were no tackles — a worrying statistic for most defenders — plus he regained possession just four times and lost it six. It is perhaps this inconsistency Lampard was referring to when he elaborated on why Christensen has not been playing too often of late. “The reality is we have competition at centre-back,” he said. “They’re not easy conversations for me because I have to choose on what I see and generally most weeks, two of them won’t be that happy. One particularly not happy.

“But as with all the players I want to work on parts of the game I think they can improve and with Andreas you can watch him against Aston Villa and he was immense. He was great to watch, he had everything in a centre-back, and then sometimes if we are coming up against teams that are physical and ask a question then Andreas really has to stand up. I don’t mind saying it because I think he knows he needs to know that.” Lampard was obviously laying down a challenge with the visit of Burnley, who are renowned for their physical approach, in mind. The negative reaction among Chelsea fans on social media to Christensen’s selection ahead of Zouma betrayed a lack of confidence in his ability to pass the test. But Chelsea kept their first clean sheet at home in the Premier League since November and Christensen was assured for long periods up against the powerful Chris Wood.

No player in blue made more tackles or clearances (3) and his percentage of total duels won (72.7) and aerial duels won (62.5) was better than that of his centre-back partner Rudiger (55.6 and 57.1). Burnley did have one set-piece goal ruled out by VAR and another chance headed off the line by Ross Barkley, but Christensen wasn’t at fault for either. He will be hard to drop on this form and Lampard will have a tough decision to make for the away game at Newcastle on January 18, although the opportunity to rotate may be taken anyway with Arsenal visiting Stamford Bridge on January 21. Still, it should be pointed out Christensen has a good relationship with the former Chelsea midfielder and this has remained the case even without playing time. It is believed Christensen would have started one of Chelsea’s best wins of the season — the 2-0 victory at Tottenham — in the middle of the back three had he not fallen ill the night before.

Chelsea are all too aware that the centre-back, who joined the academy when he was 16, has many admirers on the continent. They have had to rebuff enquiries from Barcelona, Juventus and Bayern Munich to name just three in the past couple of seasons. Bundesliga side Borussia Monchengladbach, where he was on loan between 2015-17, would love nothing more than an opportunity to sign him on a permanent basis. But sporting director Max Eberl is fully aware of the difficulty to do just that. Even if Chelsea are tempted to cash in, they would demand a figure in excess of £40 million. Eberl has still been asked about the possibility back in Germany this month and said: “We don’t need to talk about the quality of Andreas Christensen. I do not know whether it (a move) could be implemented. “I have not spoken to Chelsea. The fact is that Andreas still has two years left on his contract there. The transfer (fee) required to sign players from England who do not seem to have a major role is crazy.”

Chelsea will have second thoughts, even if a sizeable offer is made, about selling such a young international and risk the possibility of seeing him fulfil his potential elsewhere. It has been assumed he will make way should the club carry out their plans to re-sign Nathan Ake from Bournemouth or target another centre-back, but that is not the case. Ake’s ability to use his left foot is certainly an attractive proposition, but that means he is also a candidate to be fielded at left-back should Marcos Alonso or Emerson be sold. Things can change very quickly in football, but it would be a surprise if Christensen isn’t seen at Chelsea for many more years to come.

[Fernando 6,376]

@Vesper That's a good a source for reading about futbol. It's very professional. 

Thank you

[communicate 2,703]

Has been starter for consecutives games now. It is surprising that lamp really like him.

[The Skipper 20,593]

Can I just say he's been really good recently. Is definitely our most talented pure defender. Finally not shying away from physical challenges and is finally showing off that defensive intelligence of his. Just needs a top partner and we'd be okay at CB. I'd actually advocate selling Rudiger and Zouma, bringing back someone like Ampadu and buying a top top CB like Koulibaly(?). Then we have the option of Christensen, Koulibaly, Ampadu and Tomori which is a huge improvement on what we have currently. 

 

He could end up being a very very good CB for us if we keep the faith. 

[Jase 43,479]

 

[NikkiCFC 7,581]

Two sitters Leicester had because of him. We are lucky he didn't cost us a point. Bring Tomori back! 

[killer1257 3,282]

Two sitters Leicester had because of him. We are lucky he didn't cost us a point. Bring Tomori back! 

I also think that Tomori is a far better Ball playing defender. I never see AC making those sharp long ball passes

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[Kun Aguer0 36]

He is just too soft for England... good option from the bench but I still would rate him as the worst center back in the team

 

[Bosnian Blue 2,471]

If I was a striker I'd fancy playing against him every weekend. 

Have seen stronger and braver defenders in Chelsea Ladies team.

[killer1257 3,282]

To be fair, he played with fever

 

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[MoroccanBlue 5,197]

1 hour ago, killer1257 said:

To be fair, he played with fever

 

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Virtually means nothing given he has a track record of getting mugged off by PL strikers. 

Christensen and Zouma are polar opposites. One good on the ball, terrible physically. One terrible on the ball, great physically. 

Rudiger is just reckless at times and Tomori still learning. 

 

[Vesper 27,310]

2 hours ago, MoroccanBlue said:

Virtually means nothing given he has a track record of getting mugged off by PL strikers. 

Christensen and Zouma are polar opposites. One good on the ball, terrible physically. One terrible on the ball, great physically. 

Rudiger is just reckless at times and Tomori still learning. 

 

completely agree with this

(see, I can be reasonable, lolol)

[killer1257 3,282]

Virtually means nothing given he has a track record of getting mugged off by PL strikers. 
Christensen and Zouma are polar opposites. One good on the ball, terrible physically. One terrible on the ball, great physically. 
Rudiger is just reckless at times and Tomori still learning. 
 

I agree with you but I will not critizice AC for todays performance when he played with fever.

For me, Tomori needs to play. Rüdiger for me lacks football IQ and ball playing abilities. He only plays because he is a leader

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[NikkiCFC 7,581]

1168 days since his last goal in club football  

[Atomiswave 6,072]

1 hour ago, NikkiCFC said:

1168 days since his last goal in club football  

Damn thats over 3 years.....we can seriously do better than Chri. He was good under Conte but eversince then he has been rather average imo.

[OneMoSalah 8,614]

On 27/05/2020 at 4:53 PM, Atomiswave said:

Damn thats over 3 years.....we can seriously do better than Chri. He was good under Conte but eversince then he has been rather average imo.

Tbf he wasnt just 'good' under Conte. I felt before his drop in form he was probably playing better than a lot of CBs in the PL at the time and definitely better than a lot of the CBs of a similar age in Europe bar de Ligt and a few others. He has potential still but I am not sure if he will ever reach those levels of performances again. I have a feeling that the system helped him as well as it did Luiz the previous year but thats a different matter you still have to perform.

[Atomiswave 6,072]

9 hours ago, OneMoSalah said:

Tbf he wasnt just 'good' under Conte. I felt before his drop in form he was probably playing better than a lot of CBs in the PL at the time and definitely better than a lot of the CBs of a similar age in Europe bar de Ligt and a few others. He has potential still but I am not sure if he will ever reach those levels of performances again. I have a feeling that the system helped him as well as it did Luiz the previous year but thats a different matter you still have to perform.

Yes he was pretty good under Conte, the system was immense for both him and DL. He just doesnt look like getting bétter though, and so weak in the air.