The only one of Chelsea’s five centre backs (incluiding César Azpilicueta as well) under contract beyond 2022 right now is Kurt Zouma, and even if the Blues may be targeting a defensive overhaul in the next transfer window, that’s a fairly risky situation.
That situation might be changing soon however, as Chelsea are reportedly “planning to offer” a new contract to Andreas Christensen, who’s been a player reborn under Thomas Tuchel over the last month or so, making seven appearances (six starts) and conceding just one goal throughout (an own goal, at that).
While it remains to be seen if Christensen retains his starting position once Thiago Silva returns from injury, given that he’s over a decade younger than the Brazil legend — Christensen is in fact the youngest centre back in the team at 24 — a contract extension makes both business and footballing sense. Christensen hadn’t been playing consistently since Antonio Conte’s second season, incidentally also in a back-three, but now that he is, he is once again showing while he’s always been highly rated by the club’s hiearchy.
It’s been a wonderful redemption arc for the Chelsea Academy graduate, and hopefully that continues well into the future!
Chelsea planning to offer Andreas Christensen new contract as rival clubs monitor defender's situation - @Matt_Law_DT reports https://t.co/R3g4eW3UCj
— Telegraph Football (@TeleFootball) March 7, 2021