Chelsea: If Andreas Christensen is not a starter, it is time to move on

Andreas Christensen was the first academy to break through into the first team this generation but if he is not starting for Chelsea, it is time to move on.

Fans were incredibly eager to see Andreas Christensen return to Chelsea in 2017. He had been on loan for two successful years at Gladbach. Upon his return, Antonio Conte immediately recognized his talent and put him into the starting XI.

Then the Barcelona match happened and Christensen made an error leading to goal. After that, his confidence was shot though Conte still backed him. Unfortunately for the young defender, Conte was sacked that summer for Maurizio Sarri. Sarri did not see the same things in Christensen as Conte did. He opted for David Luiz time and time again and Christensen struggled for playing time.

Even under Frank Lampard, that situation has not changed much thanks in part to his lack of playing time the season before. Christensen is a valuable player that can earn his way into Lampard’s plans yet but the simple fact of the matter is that at 24, if he is not a starter, it is time to move on.

That statement is not all about Christensen directly either. Chelsea needs to strengthen as much as possible to catch up to Liverpool and Manchester City. And while overall Chelsea’s defense has done better on paper than it has in practice, the in practice bit is the only bit that really matters at the end of the day.

So if a new center back were to come in, it would be at the expense of Kurt Zouma, Antonio Rudiger, Fikayo Tomori, or Andreas Christensen. Zouma has arguably become Chelsea’s best defender over the course of the season. Rudiger has been recovering from injury, but he was previously seen as the best defender the club had. Tomori was the best defender before he strangely stopped starting, but age is on his side for a little longer. That leaves Christensen.

Christensen is clearly talented. On his day, he can be Chelsea’s best defender on the ball and with the right partner he can be devastatingly fantastic. But those days require him starting. If he is not starting then he does not really improve anything going on with the side.

At 24, that can be an issue. He can still improve at that age, of course, but if Chelsea is not going to be starting him then or/if the Blues are looking for a new center back to start, then it simply becomes time to move Christensen along.

Out of the four center backs, he would surely attract the most interest. He has been linked to Barcelona before and they would surely pay top dollar for a player of Christensen’s technical abilities. And, ideally, Chelsea would include some sort of buy back clause or at least a first option just in case Christensen does showcase all his potential as soon as he becomes a starter somewhere.

Christensen deserves to start somewhere. If that place is not Chelsea, then the Blues need to prepare for a future without the Danish defender. He is very good and would be hard to lose, but if he is not playing then the Blues are not losing much. Lampard can give him a chance to impress in the final matches of the season but, if not, it is time to go their separate ways.