Chelsea star explains why January move to Barca, Juve was blocked

Andreas Christiansen has insisted he will for fight for his Chelsea future after claiming the club blocked his exit from the club in January.

Barcelona, Juventus and the Dane’s former club Borussia Monchengladbach were all linked with moves for the defender in January – but the offers were rebuffed as Chelsea opted to retain the little-used 22-year-old’s services.

Although finding first-team chances hard to come by under Maurizio Sarri – and, on occasions, coming in for criticism from the Italian – Christiansen now believes the tide is set to turn for him at Stamford Bridge after the January transfer riposte.

He told bold.dk: “There was a lot of talk, but it was made clear to me that the club still saw me as someone who will play.

“Of course it is really nice to hear, and I just have to keep performing. I think I’ve done well the last few times I’ve got the chance, and I just have to hope that I am selected more often.”

Christensen added: “Of course there were a lot of considerations, but as they made it clear to me that they wanted me to stay, it was really not that hard for me to accept it.

“I’ve been to the club for many years and I still love being there.

“It is solely because of the lack of playing time that I considered leaving.

“But I am looking forward and am very clear with the situation.”

Andreas Christensen TEAMtalk

David Luiz and Antonio Rudiger are ahead of Christiansen in the Chelsea pecking order but the centre-half has vowed to show he will be ready when called upon.

“It is hard. Right now there are two clear first choice defenders, and then there is me who comes right after,” he added.

“I just have to show I am ready and grab the chance when I get it.”

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