Andreas Christensen

[Wilson 358]

We have signed Andrea Christensen from Brondby, free!

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11668/7493857/Chelsea-snap-up-Christensen

[Melanicus 5,208]

One player who will definitely join Chelsea is the 15-year-old defender Andreas Christensen. The Blues have secured the signature of the Denmark U-17 centre-half ahead of Premier League rivals Arsenal and Manchester City, Aston Villa, Ajax and German giants Bayern Munich. The Denmark Under-17 international will move from Brondby this summer after agreeing a deal on Sunday. Christensen told Ekstra Bladet: "I have chosen Chelsea because they play the kind of football I like. They have the best plan for my future in football."

Christensen has agreed to a summer move to Cobham that will see him joining talented defensive prospects Nathan Ake and Nathaniel Chalobah at the U18 level. The offer reportedly includes a job for Christensen's father working with our young keepers as well as housing for the player's family as they move to London.

From a physical standpoint, Christensen is far from a finished product. He currently stands at slightly over 6 feet tall, but at the age of 15 it's still safe to assume he'll grow more and fill out some. How much so is difficult to project, but even if he was to stop growing now he'd likely have the size necessary to remain in the center of the defense. Andreas turned 15 this past April and currently plies his trade for the U17 side at Danish club Brøndby IF. He's also a regular in the Danish U17 side despite being eligible for the U15's.

Christensen plays primarily in the center of the defense, he also has some experience playing on the left flank. It probably means little at this point, having some versatility is always a good thing going forward. While it's hard to find too much in the way of scouting information on someone this young, most reports seem to suggest that Christensen is positionally solid and very calm and composed on the ball for one so young. They are also fairly glowing about his athleticism, which coupled with his size at this age definitely makes me smile. That seems to be the type of player Michael Emenalo prefers, having signed youngsters Nathan Ake and Tomas Kalas that fit very similar molds in the past year.

This should not be looked at as anything other than a long term purchase. While it's fun to dream about what might be in the long term, Andreas will likely be slotted into the youth team when he arrives and is still years away from first team action. From all reports I've read he's certainly being looked at as a world class prospect, but temper your expectations with this one until we see how he fares when he arrives. Brøndby has a very good reputation though, so hopefully this is just the next in a series of what have been fantastic youth signings lately if it is indeed finalized.

With all the criticism that the academy has been receiving on the failure to produce top flight players in recent years it is good to see us being viewed in such high regard by Europe's top youngsters. Christensen will join what is rapidly becoming the most highly touted U18 squad in Europe over the summer, and while we won't be seeing him in the Chelsea first team at any point soon, we'll certainly benefit from the additional depth. We do seem to have a glut of young talent now in the center of the defense, but that seems to be a very nice problem to have indeed. All in all, it's another good day for the Chelsea youth system.

[Melanicus 5,208]

http://forum.talkchelsea.net/topic/12278-andreas-christensen/

[Wilson 358]

http://forum.talkchelsea.net/topic/12278-andreas-christensen/

I beat you to it

[Melanicus 5,208]

I beat you to it

Mine has more information

[Rambo 1,729]

Christensen told Ekstra Bladet: "I have chosen Chelsea because they play the kind of football I like. They have the best plan for my future in football."

LOL

[cujo101 75]

Another one entering the Chelsea 'black hole' never to be seen again...

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Excuse my pessimism, but I honestly rarely get excited about new acquisition to our youth squad. But, then again, who knows what could happen in 4-5 years time.

[Rambo 1,729]

Its nice to see us make these type of transactions for the future. It's a try at least.

[Joker10 946]

LOL

What so funny?

He is very similar to Kalas, Chalobah, Bruma, and Ake. He fits perfectly into our team.

[manpe 10,861]

guess we can't make fun of arsenal anymore.. recently we've been pedobearing around too

[Rambo 1,729]

What so funny?

He is very similar to Kalas, Chalobah, Bruma, and Ake. He fits perfectly into our team.

I was laughing at his quote on why he chose Chelsea, for the amazing football we apparently play.

[Spike 12,049]

He should have joined Bayern Munich. They are quite low on defenders and could get into the first team 2-3 years.

Bayern have 6 Defenders to fill 4 Spots.

[Melanicus 5,208]

I'm jealous, because he's the same age as me and can play for Chelsea.

Wish I was born in England...

[Henri 115]

Great talent, now lets use it in the future.

[ja1 1,166]

@chelseayouth: RT @Wilkens_cph: Christensen tells that he actually got called up for Leeds AWAY but dropped out of squad when Ivanovic got over his knock.

[ja1 1,166]

Surprised Christensen has made the squad TBH, he's been good this year but the likes of Boga, Baker and Feruz were more deserving of a call up to the first team squad based on all their campaigns IMO.

[yuvala 2,167]

Just found out about this guy...