Having overseen his rise from promising youngster to Bundesliga and Champions League-capable center back, Borussia Mönchengladbach sure like to talk a lot (or sure are asked a lot) about Chelsea loanee Andreas Christensen, who’s currently out for about a month with a gluteal injury. They mostly like to talk about how they want to keep him permanently, how they’d be willing to spent lots of money on him — a club record, even — and how that would be the best move for all involved.
Chelsea of course disagree with all this and supposedly have a long-term plan in place for the 20-year-old which probably involves a chance at the first-team next summer.
Christensen himself has been mostly non-committal, but in the latest round of comments about him, Gladbach sporting director seems to have revealed where the young defender thinks he will more than likely end up. Spoiler alert: it’s not with the German side.
"It will be hard work. I have hope it can be done, I don't know whether we'll buy him. Probably not. Maybe there are other models worth considering. We have to talk to Chelsea. Andreas is very Chelsea affine. He also says, 'If I have the chance to be a starter at Chelsea then I will return.'"
-Max Eberl; Source: Sky Deutschland via ESPN FC
The “other models” hoped for by Eberl could include a buy-back clause, such as the one that was rumoured to have been included in Thorgan Hazard's contract when he made his switch from Chelsea to Gladbach permanently — an arrangement that has been dismissed by Eberl last month. It could also be another loan, maybe with an option to buy, a transfer model that is often found in the Italian league.
In either case, it would be ludicrous for Chelsea to let go of a talent who could potentially help fill in the massive gap left by John Terry and the other aging stalwarts of Chelsea’s defense. Eberl himself seems keenly aware of his club's low chances to pry the defender from Chelsea’s grasps, which is a distinct shift in tone from his more confident statements during the summer and before.
Hopefully this time next year, we will have closed the loan warrior chapter of Christensen’s development and moved on to the part where he becomes a Chelsea regular.