Andreas Bodtker Christensen was always destined for big things. His father is a former Brondby keeper who goes by the name of Sten Christensen. Andreas too started his youth career in the same club. When he was around 15 or 16, there was some serious interest in Christensen as some top clubs such as Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea began to take notice of the young Danish talent. He eventually made the move to Chelsea stating that “I have chosen Chelsea because they play the kind of football I like”
Chelsea have had a long history of plucking youngsters from other youth academies and placing them into theirs. Following a few years with the academy, the player is then loaned out to get invaluable experience and playing time. Andreas too followed down the same route when he made the loan move to German club Borussia Monchengladbach in 2015. In his first season there, he made a total of 38 appearances both in the league and in Europe and scored 3 goals. Quite an impressive campaign for a lad who was 19 for most of the season.
Such performances have not gone unnoticed and several clubs will be lining up to sign Christensen up when his loan move with Monchengladbach expires. The German club themselves have been credited with an interest to bring him in on a permanent basis. The fact that Chelsea have already done business with them in the past, having sold Thorgan Hazard to them, will give Gladbach a good feeling about a prospective transfer.
Chelsea, on the other hand, though, should look to retain their Danish center back who can also play at right-back if needed. Chelsea themselves are having to spend big on players and new manager Conte has shown a willingness to use the pre-existing players at Chelsea and give them a chance to prove themselves. It is obvious that he has also had a look at the players who are out on loan and will look to give a few of them the opportunity to establish themselves next term. Christensen certainly should be one of them.
Here are 3 reasons why Chelsea should hold onto Andreas Christensen –
One for the future –
It is quite clear that the Dane has a bright future ahead of him. Chelsea in the past have made mistakes by selling younger players off without totally evaluating their potential. They shouldn’t repeat the same mistake with Christensen as their scouts will have already given them good feedback about the Dane from Monchengladbach.
Perfect heir to John Terry –
Christensen could become the natural successor to Terry or even Ivanovic, who isn’t getting any younger. The Blues have spent astronomical figures on defenders in the recent past and not always has it been a wise move to do so. They should instead look to hold on to Christensen and push away any kind of interest shown in him, even if it is Barcelona.
Antonio Conte’s 3-4-3 system –
After a few matchdays, Conte started playing the 3-4-3 system that yielded him positive results with both Juventus and the Italian national team. At Chelsea too, the formation has been super- successful. The Blues have won 5 games on the trot, scoring 16 goals in the process and conceding none. Now that they play 3 at the back, Chelsea will need depth in the squad in defensive areas and instead of wildly investing again, they should look to give Christensen a chance and let him shine.
That being said, some people still think there is another stage of development in Christensen’s career. That being a season on loan at a Premier League club. But if Christensen impresses again at Gladbach, Chelsea could opt to keep him and give him a chance to express himself on the Premier League stage at Stamford Bridge.