Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has admitted defeat in his bid to convince Andreas Christensen to extend his contract at Stamford Bridge, and the Dane's stance could not have been clearer.
The German boss has been vocal that he would like the central defender to remain at the club, and how important he is to his future plans. However, in light of the FA Cup final defeat against Liverpool, the Blues manager admitted that Christensen's time at the club was coming to an end, simply stating: "We are losing Toni [Rudiger], we're losing Andreas."
The admission will have been even more disheartening for Tuchel given the blockbuster revelation that Christensen withdrew from the Chelsea squad just hours before the loss to Liverpool on Saturday afternoon, according to the Mail. Although the reason for his withdrawal is yet to be disclosed, the Denmark international is not believed to have been injured – adding fuel to the fire.
Christensen joined Chelsea in 2012 and has come through the ranks at the club, leading many to believe - pre-ownership woes - that there would be no difficulties in convincing the 26-year-old to stay at the club given that they had nurtured him from a young age. But rejected contract offers suggest that the player has had a wandering eye for months.
The defender has been a regular inclusion under Tuchel but has never truly been one of the first names on the team sheet in London since Antonio Conte was in charge, and whether that is a factor behind his exit is something that only the player will know.
The defender has made 161 appearances for the club overall and won the Champions League and Europa League along the way. Therefore, to throw it all away and turn his back on fans, staff and team-mates seems unreasonable from Christensen and many will be somewhat hoping that there is a good reason why the defender made himself unavailable.
Who should Tuchel replace Christensen with this summer? Comment down below
It is well reported that the pressure of matches can make him feel unwell, which former Blues boss Maurizio Sarri touched on previously. But when the occasion is as great as a cup final and there are talks that a deal is in place everywhere, questions are certain to be raised.
Christensen making himself unavailable, thus throwing Trevoh Chalobah - his replacement in the starting eleven - in at the deep end, certainly won’t have gone down well with the Blues faithful. And if the decision was transfer-fuelled, it won’t reflect well on the player given how complimentary Tuchel has been of him for many months.
Tuchel has consistently reiterated that as long as Christensen is committed to Chelsea – despite reports that he has agreed to join Barcelona this summer and will sign a five-year deal – then he will be up for selection. And amid all the rumours that the defender was exploring options elsewhere, his manager has always stood by him.
He even publicly tried to convince the academy product to remain on several occasions, last month he said: “I gave you an honest statement that he is in exactly the right place for his journey. That he could continue with this club and become the defender that he can be, the real personality and the playing minutes figure that he wants to be.
“In my opinion, he shouldn’t forget where he comes from, where his education comes from, where is his home and that’s just my opinion. He needs that kind of environment to bring the best out of him. That’s just my opinion and I gave it some weeks ago but the talks in autumn and the summer were constant talks.”
Instead, it appears Christensen's Chelsea career could well be over after that FA Cup snub, as he apparently left his team-mates shocked by his decision to check out of the team hotel in London. With a move to Barcelona seeming inevitable, few would excuse Tuchel from leaving him out of the final two games of the season against Leicester City and Watford.
