Chelsea have ‘agreement in place’ to renew contract of key Tuchel man

Chelsea have an agreement in place to renew the contract of Andreas Christensen, according to respected journalist Fabrizio Romano.

The Denmark international has emerged as a key player for Thomas Tuchel’s defence since the German took charge in January 2021. To that end, the player has spoken regularly about his extending his stay at Stamford Bridge.

The €35million-rated centre-back insists he is happy and wants to carry on playing for the reigning European champions.

And now Romano states that the Blues so have plans to extend Christensen’s contract. Indeed, it is only a matter of time before that deal gets signed.

Despite Tuchel having numerous options at his disposal, Christensen has started seven of the club’s nine Premier League and Champions League outings so far this season.

The 25-year-old is regarded is one of the most improved players in England. He has also struck up an excellent partnership alongside the more combative Antonio Rudiger.

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The German was also out of favour under Lampard but is another to have shone under Tuchel.

The big problem for Chelsea with Rudiger now is that he is out of contract next summer. There are strong rumours that he could look to move on, with new contract talks stalling.

That means getting Christensen tied down is critical for Tuchel to keep some continuity in his defence.

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Big Lukaku worry for Chelsea

Meanwhile, Romelu Lukaku has pulled out of Belgium’s squad ahead of their Nations League third-placed playoff against Italy on Sunday, giving Chelsea a big concern in the process.

The 28-year-old forward scored Belgium’s second goal in their 3-2 defeat to France in the Nations League semi-finals on Thursday evening. But after a recovery day on Friday he did not feature in training in Saturday’s training session with Roberto Martinez’s men.

And the Belgium FA has since confirmed that Lukaku left the team’s training base on Saturday afternoon.

The news will come as a big concern for Chelsea, who face London rivals Brentford in the Premier League next Saturday.

“Eden Hazard and Lukaku are in a similar physical condition. They have had muscle overload and we didn’t have the facilities here to do the usual medical work. So they will return to Belgium to get back to the best in the clubs,” Martinez said on Saturday.

“It’s an overload, it’s a medical issue.

“We don’t have the feeling they are 100 per cent to be on the pitch. I don’t know what the evolution of these injuries will be.

“Whether they will be available for the first match of their respective clubs depends on their progress at their clubs. But it is certainly not the same injury that [Thomas] Meunier suffered.

“Obviously there is an excellent understanding between the two medical staff [of Belgium and Chelsea] and we want to do the best for the player, every decision is also made in agreement with the club.”

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