Chelsea are looking to sell some players from the current squad in order to raise money and free up space for new signings, and Andreas Christensen is in the firing line as per recent reports.
While Andreas has managed to rake in over 2000 minutes in all competitions this season, in the process (possibly?) becoming the first Academy graduate since John Terry to make 100 appearances for the first-team — he’s currently on 99 with at least one more match to play — there’s a feeling that he’s behind Antonio Rüdiger and Kurt Zouma in the pecking order, and he could well be the one sacrificed to bring in a new centre back.
However, the current economic climate has made it difficult for most clubs to do business and Chelsea will need to be smart if we want to offload players and find value wherever we can. According to Gladbach Live, that is exactly what we’re trying to do. They claim that Chelsea are looking to exchange Christensen (and some cash) for Borussia Mönchengladbach’s Matthias Ginter. The report calls that a “crazy exchange” ... but is it really?
Before establishing himself at Chelsea, Christensen made his breakthrough while on loan at Gladbach (2015-17), and they have never hid their continuing admiration for the player. They’ve been linked with him repeatedly since, and have tried to re-acquire him at least once, unsuccessfully. They now could have the opportunity to change that.
The cash portion of Chelsea’s offer is said to be “possibly in double digits” of millions (i.e. €10m+), which would sweeten the deal for Gladbach. The report assigns a €28m market value to the 26-year-old Ginter, possibly one of the best defenders in the entire Bundesliga, and a €24m value to Christensen, who isn’t quite the best at Chelsea, let alone the Premier League.
The two clubs are also said to have a very good relationship, stemming from the Christensen loan, as well as the Thorgan Hazard deal back in 2015. Gladbach’s Vice President, Rainer Bonhof, was a Chelsea scout between 2006 to 2008, even!
In principle, this could be the perfect deal for both the clubs. Christensen is adored at Gladbach, and with two years left on his Chelsea contract, the time could be right for the Blues to let him go so that he can truly establish himself elsewhere. Similarly, Chelsea’s interest in Ginter gives the German international a chance to prove himself at a better club while Gladbach receive some much-needed transfer funds as well.
While the transfer window still has two months to go, and there’s a lot of distance to cover for this deal to go through, it could eventually prove to be one that is a win-win-win for all involved.
#Borussia-Macher Max #Eberl hat jüngst wiederholt deutliche Botschaften verkündet: Alle Stars sollen bei #BMG bleiben. Nichtsdestotrotz baggern Top-Klubs im Verborgenen die #gladbach-Stars an. Wie #ChelseaFC. https://t.co/Y7vxXLpN8m
— GladbachLIVE (@gladbachlive) August 2, 2020