Andreas Christensen, who joined Chelsea from Brondby at age 15 in 2012, is on his way out this summer and headed to FC Barcelona on a free transfer. Christensen pulled out of the FA Cup final, just before kickoff, for reasons unexplained. He has started just one of the club’s previous six, the win at Leeds on May 11, and we still don’t why he the Danish defender is missing so many matches.
There have been numerous reports that he just doesn’t want to play right now, but Blues boss Thomas Tuchel has disputed those claims. Ahead of tomorrow’s match at Leicester City, Tuchel opened up more on the situation.
Chelsea FC vs Leicester City FYIs
Kick: 8pm GMT, Thur May 19, Stamford Bridge
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Google Result Probability: Chelsea 70% Draw 18% Leicester City 12%
Premier League Position: Chelsea 3rd, 70 pts Leicester City 9th, 48pts
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Tuchel may it sound like the 26-year-old may have played his last game in a blue shirt.
“He had his reasons, they stay private and confidential. It was not the first time as you can see over the last weeks that we had some of the same situations.
“That’s why he did not play so regularly over the last weeks. We thought that we are in a good progression, in a good development because he played very, very strong in the match before the final against Leeds.
“The conversation took place, we had to respect it, we of course respected it. He still has our support but for tomorrow I’m not sure. Probably unlikely for the weekend. It was on very short notice before the cup final and not only before this match, in other matches in the weeks before so no chance I have any prediction it will be [Thursday] or the weekend.”
The German was also asked whether or not he felt let down by Christensen, to which he responded: “We had to accept it and we will accept it. I try the best I can not to take things personal and I still believe Andreas wanted to play in these kind of matches.
“I still believe that he could in terms of potential and what he gives to the team. That’s why he was a key player for us but he struggled over the last few weeks when he was not in the squad or not playing.
“Also he was physically available, not being injured physically. So that was not completely out of the blue sky. I am missing maybe the word here, it was not the ideal scenario for us. We thought we prepared him in the best way possible and with the game at Leeds, where we managed a lot of pressure on us in a very impressive way, we thought we had him available.”
“He is a key player and if you arrive in a final against Liverpool, you want all your players available which is not the case.”
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Bank (TheSportsBank.Net) and author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” as well as “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune, and he co-hosts the After Extra Time podcast, part of Edge of the Crowd Network. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.