Borussia Mönchengladbach sporting director Max Eberl has all-but conceded that the club won’t be able to convince Chelsea to sell Andreas Christensen.
The Bundesliga outfit are expected to open talks with the Blues again in the coming weeks, with the Dane on loan until the end of the season.
However, Eberl has revealed his hope of keeping hold of the centre-half for longer, although concedes given his talent, it’s highly unlikely that he’ll be able to convince Chelsea to sell him outright.
“I can’t imagine that Chelsea would sell it to me,” he told Bild. “But maybe we are able to loan him again for a year or two. If at the end he’s spent three or four years with us, without a fee, that would be a pretty good deal.”
It remains to be seen what Chelsea opt to do, as if Christensen will suffer with a lack of playing time next season, it would seem like the most sensible option to loan him out again.
However, Gladbach will likely face competition for him this time round given his impressive performances, although they will hope that they have the advantage of offering him a familiar environment in which he has developed into a quality player with over 50 appearances under his belt.
Given the question marks that remain over the Chelsea defence, it’s likely that Antonio Conte will have to address his backline sooner rather than later. Nevertheless, in Christensen’s situation, he may well benefit from staying in Germany for a little longer and returning an even better player.