Chelsea winter evaluation: Traffic jam at center back
By Travis Tyler
Andreas Christensen, Denmark
After Maurizio Sarri basically ignored Christensen’s existence for Luiz, it appeared as though Lampard would be the man to bring the Dane right back into the starting XI where he belonged.
It did not happen that way though. Christensen was given chances earlier in the season and blew them. Lampard settled on the Tomori Zouma partnership for most of the season with Christensen seemingly having no outlet.
More recently, Christensen has been back in the starting XI and not just in rotation either. It is unclear as to what changed in regards to Christensen, but he appears more confident on the pitch now.
The Dane still has a ton of potential to fulfill and whether he does or not may depend on how much longer this current run of minutes continues.
Performance so far: Incomplete as he went from zero to hero as of late.
Will he return next season: It will be hard to keep Christensen if a big European club comes calling with game time guarantees. Thus far, Chelsea has not done enough to hold on to the Dane but that could change yet.
Related Story. Chelsea winter evaluation: Goalkeepers need a ton of work. light
Antonio Rudiger, Germany
Rudiger has spent virtually the entire season injured. The moment he was supposed to return from one injury, he would pick up another. He is only just now finding a run of fitness.
Many believed Rudiger would return and solve all of Chelsea’s defensive issues. He did not. He has still been good but he has not reached the heights of last season.
Rudiger has shared Christensen’s recent run of games and on paper, he would be Chelsea’s best defender. In practice that is still Tomori and the potential of Tomori and Christensen long term out weights Rudiger’s.
Had Rudiger not spent so much time out injured the situation may be different. But in a four way battle for two starting spots, he feels like the odd man out if the club is playing the long game.
Performance so far: Really not enough to make a fair judgement
Will he return next season: If Chelsea gets a new center back and can convince Christensen to stay, Rudiger is the odd man out due to his age. He will most likely be back because the position is low priority in the market, but things can change quickly at Chelsea.
Next. Chelsea winter evaluation: The lopsidedness of the full backs. dark
How would you evaluate the center backs so far? Who do you think will return? Let us know in the comments and on Twitter!