Andreas Christensen has expressed his disappointment regarding his current situation at Chelsea, saying that he may seek to move to pastures new if he does not get to play significant minutes on the pitch.
Christensen established himself at the Blues backline last season under Antonio Conte, making 40 appearances in all competitions as the west London outfit won the FA Cup last May. He enjoyed a stellar debut season with the senior side at Stamford Bridge, having joined the Blues academy as a teenager in 2012, and his steady displays as part of Conte’s back three saw him named the Blues Young Player of the Year.
He was widely considered as a stalwart in the Chelsea defence for the foreseeable future but a managerial change saw the Danish international lose out on the starting XI this season. The arrival of Maurizio Sarri saw Chelsea switch from 3-4-2-1 to a 4-3-3 shape this season, meaning only two central defenders can be accommodated in the ex-Napoli man’s preferred shape.
With Maurizio Sarri preferring the centre-back partnership of David Luiz and Antonio Rudiger, Christensen slipped down the pecking order at the west London club. His three starts this campaign have only come from the Europa League and the League Cup as he is yet to be utilised by Sarri in a league game for Chelsea – a situation that Christensen admits has been hard for him.
“Right now, it’s not a good season for me, but I have to find some way to get back on. How? I do not know, but it’s up to me to figure that out,” said the Danish international. “But right now it looks hard. We have good results and we play super football, which only makes it harder. It’s hard for me personally, but for the team it looks great.”
The Dane, who played for his country at the World Cup in Russia, concedes that if his situation at the club does not change soon, he will have to consider another move away from west London, possibly in the January transfer window.
“I cannot show so much patience again. I’m 22 years old and I really want to play,” added Christensen. “In the last three seasons I’ve played a big role for the teams I have been with, so it’s clear that I cannot see myself staying if my current situation continues in the future. It’s too early to talk about change for now, and when that might happen, but it’s clear that this is not a good situation for me.”
Since joining the Chelsea academy setup in 2012, Christensen made his senior debut for the club in the 2014-2015 season but with first-team opportunities hard to come by, the Dane opted to move to Borussia Monchengladbach on a two-year loan deal. He established himself as a regular at the Bundesliga club before making his breakthrough at Chelsea last season.
