Tuchel favourite will ‘respect Chelsea’ amid new reveal in exit talks to Barcelona or Bayern

The future of Andreas Christensen has taken another twist after a trusted source revealed what the Dane won’t do to Chelsea in the summer.

The 25-year-old centre-half has featured in 26 matches across all competitions for the Blues this season. With Chelsea challenging on four fronts, Christensen is poised to set his new single-season high for Blues appearances which currently stands at 40 in 2017/18.

Christensen has featured across the entire three-man backline this season and has contributed to Chelsea’s defence once again being their greatest strength under Tuchel.

However, like Cesar Azpilicueta and Antonio Rudiger, Christensen is out of contract in the summer.

That means he is free to negotiate a pre-contract agreement with overseas clubs at any time. And according to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, the Denmark international is locked in talks with Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

Bayern are looking for a replacement for the Borussia-Dortmund-bound Niklas Sule.

Barcelona, meanwhile, would like to land both Christensen and Azpilicueta in a double free agent swoop. Their ongoing financial strife makes free agent acquisitions more appealing than ever at the Camp Nou.

Christensen will ‘respect’ Chelsea despite multiple snubs

Chelsea are understood to harbour hopes of tying Christensen down to fresh terms. However, talks have repeatedly failed to progress after the Telegraph revealed Chelsea twice saw deals they believed were close to being signed turned down.

Now, Romano has provided the latest on the ongoing situation, and Chelsea can rest assured Christensen won’t be lining up against them next season – at least in the Premier League.

Chelsea to choose Rudiger over Christensen after contract snubs

Chelsea are unhappy with Andreas Christensen and will prioritise Antonio Rudiger with new contract

Romano tweeted the centre-back ‘won’t consider’ any offers from fellow English sides out of ‘respect’ to Chelsea.

That will be music to the ears of Bayern and Barca, who Romano reports are both ‘still in talks’.

The journalist confirmed Barcelona have approached Azpilicueta too. Though at present, both he and Christensen’s futures remain up in the air.

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Details emerge of Chelsea’s Eden Hazard plan

Meanwhile, Chelsea are in discussions to bring Eden Hazard back to the club on a sensational loan deal in the summer, claims a report.

His time at Real Madrid since joining in a deal worth €100m in 2019 been far from smooth. What’s more, he still has two-and-a-half years left to run on his Los Blancos contract.

“Leaving Chelsea is the biggest and toughest decision in my career to date,” wrote Hazard at the time. And now, according to Spanish football journalist, Ramon Alvarez of Radio Marca, a return to Stamford Bridge could be in the offing.

Per the source, the two clubs are in talks over a loan deal for Hazard. Of course any deal would have to wait until the summer with the winter transfer window closed. But Chelsea are apparently keen to take the Belgium forward back on a season-long loan.

Negotiations are already underway to push through a temporary deal in the summer, with no option to make it permanent. Hazard would then return to Madrid in July 2023 with 12 months remaining on his contract.

While that type of move may sound far-fetched on first glance, it would closely mirror the deal that saw Gareth Bale return for a season at Tottenham last year.

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