Transfer News: Barcelona lead Bayern Munich in race to sign Chelsea star Andreas Christensen
According to Spanish publication Mundo Deportivo (h/t The Sun), Barcelona are leading Bayern Munich in the race to secure the services of Chelsea star Andreas Christensen in the summer transfer window. Uncertainty has surrounded his future at Stamford Bridge for quite a while, and he could end up leaving at the end of this season.
Christensen has less than six months left on his current deal with the Blues. He could legally sign a pre-contract agreement with foreign clubs at this moment. The Dane looks poised to leave at the end of the season, having already expressed his intentions to the West London side.
Barca and Bayern Munchen are the two probable destinations as the Dane will look to leave the Premier League altogether due to his respect for Thomas Tuchel’s side. The La Liga club is in pole position as talks over a transfer have intensified recently.
Major concern
Losing one of our star centre-backs would deal us one of the worst cards to play with ahead of next season. Our success under Tuchel so far has been down to the sturdy defence he has built in a short period in West London. His age profile also makes him one of our few centre-backs that can lead this defence for years to come.
The board must try their best to try and convince the 25-year-old to stay with us moving forward. The Danish international may have ambitions to play outside England, but the club would be smart to do all it can to at least put forth a respectable offer for the ex-Borussia Monchengladbach man.
But if we can’t tie him down for longer, we must start looking at life past him. What worsens the situation here is that if Bayern lose out on Christensen, the Bavarians could then target a move for Antonio Rudiger, who is also set to become a free agent in the summer transfer window.
The thorns in our path just don’t stop there, as Cesar Azpilizueta is being targeted by Xavi Hernandez’s side as well at the end of this term. Azpilicueta can also leave on a free transfer next summer, which puts into perspective the potential defensive exodus that awaits us this summer.
Let’s hope that Marina Granovskaia would live up to her reputation and tie down the three centre-backs on a new deal. If not, she must prepare for the worst and line up replacements who could slot in instantly for us after this summer.
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It is not wise on the club’s part to let three PL-tested defenders run down their contracts like this. But since that situation has now arisen, the best we can do is make sure that we are not short of quality in defence in the event of any of them leaving.