Barcelona monitoring Andreas Christensen amid contract uncertainty

Barcelona continue to be linked with Chelsea centre-back Andreas Christensen, whose future at Stamford Bridge is increasingly uncertain as he nears the end of his current contract.

Christensen was previously thought to close to extending his deal that expires at the end of this season. He personally described the situation as ‘good’ when speaking about it in September, while it was then reported in October that an agreement with Chelsea had been reached.

However, things appeared to stall in November amid changing demands from the player’s representatives. A recent change in agent has since complicated things further and Christensen’s form on the pitch has suffered while his future has been thrown up in the air.

Since entering the final six months of his contract at the weekend, the Denmark international is now eligible to formally negotiate a pre-contract with overseas clubs.

Barcelona, whose financial troubles mean that free agents will once again have to dominate their recruitment strategy, especially now after sinking €55m into signing Ferran Torres from Manchester City, are being heavily linked with an approach.

Gianluca Di Marzio claims that Barça interest is one of the reasons that Chelsea’s attempts to come to a fresh contract agreement with Christensen have stalled. It is also suggested that the 25-year-old is open to the idea of changing clubs.

Christensen has been linked with Barcelona at various points in recent years, notably in both 2017 and 2018.

He is not the only Chelsea centre-back whose contract is expiring. Cesar Azpilicueta is yet to agree a new deal and is also wanted by Barcelona, while Antonio Rudiger is increasingly expected to leave as a free agent in June. Thiago Silva, however, penned a one-year extension until 2023 on Monday.

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