Barcelona chiefs are feeling anxious after watching Andreas Christensen in action for Chelsea against Arsenal on Wednesday, a report has claimed.
The Denmark international defender’s contract expires in the summer and he has already decided to move on. Indeed, he has picked Barca as the next venture in his career.
Blues boss Thomas Tuchel had claimed that Chelsea were the “perfect” place for the 26-year-old to continue to develop.
However, he has opted for a new experience and will move to Spain as a free agent. Barcelona president Joan Laporta has confirmed that a new defender is on the way. And Christensen has been widely touted as the signing.
According to Sport, though, Barca are now having concerns after watching Christensen in recent weeks.
The centre-back struggled in the Champions League quarter-final first leg defeat to Real Madrid. While he started that game, he came off at half-time after Karim Benzema’s brace.
Christensen subsequently remained on the bench for the second leg. He played 81 minutes at Wembley last Sunday as Chelsea advanced to the FA Cup final. However, he failed to show any consistency in Wednesday’s defeat to Arsenal.
In fact, his misplaced back-pass allowed Eddie Nketiah to steal in and open the scoring in the Gunners’ eventual 4-2 win. Tuchel therefore brought him off again for Thiago Silva at half-time.
Sport claims that Barcelona have not met Christensen’s performances with any ‘calm’.
The newspaper adds that Barca have concerns over the centre-back’s injury record.
Still, they believe that head coach Xavi has what it takes to get Christensen performing at the top level.
Xavi has had success with his January signings so far. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Ferran Torres and Adama Traore have all settled well.
Christensen part of Chelsea worries
For Chelsea, though, Christensen’s looming departure forms part of their concerns at centre-back.
They could also yet lose Antonio Rudiger, who is too nearing the end of his contract. His future remains unclear, but he reportedly has interest from Real Madrid.
Meanwhile, Thiago Silva signed a new one-year deal in January but at 37, his time at the top level looks limited.
As such, both Chelsea and Barcelona have work to do at the back.
