Maurizio Sarri
The Mirror has revealed that Barcelona wants Andreas Christensen as a replacement for Thomas Vermaelen, who has spent most of his time in Spain on the physio’s bed. The Belgian international joined the reigning La Liga champions from Arsenal four years ago but has struggled to make an impact with injuries playing a major part.
However, now with Samuel Umtiti and Vermaelen out injured together, Ernesto Valverde wants to bring in reinforcements in the winter window with Andreas Christensen and even Matthijs De Ligt on his shortlist (h/t Mirror).
For Chelsea, it means that they will need to keep an eye as Christensen has already revealed that he is not happy with his current situation at Stamford Bridge in an interview with Goal.com.
The 22-year-old was a key star under Antonio Conte last season, after Conte and David Luiz had a falling out, according to the Daily Mail. He made 40 appearances the last term, including six in the Champions League and 27 in the Premier League. Since Maurizio Sarri has taken over the reins at Chelsea, the Denmark international has only made 9 appearances with just one in the Premier League.
And now, Spanish outlet Sport has revealed that Barcelona want the 22-year-old on loan for the remainder of the season.
This would make an ideal situation better for all the parties interested as Christensen gets his game time, Sarri gets to keep a player happy and Barcelona will receive a short-term replacement till Samuel Umtiti returns. But the only problem is that, in all likelihood, the La Liga giants might somehow convince the Dane to stay on a permanent basis.
They do need another centre-back and Christensen would be perfect, especially given his defensive acumen and his passing ability. Under Conte, the 22-year-old averaged a stunning passing accuracy of 93%, winning 60% of his duels in the process.
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Defensively, he was a rock and looked more than comfortable with the ball at his feet, which is a quality that is ever-present in all Barcelona defenders. Thus, the Blues should consider letting Christensen leave on loan and join the Spanish champions.
