Thomas Tuchel says he is delighted with the progress of Andreas Christensen this season, though contact talks with the Chelsea defender are understood to have stalled.
Christensen has emerged as a key performer for the west Londoners this season and has enjoyed a fine run of form for the Premier League leaders, but there remains uncertainty surrounding his future with the Denmark international having entered the final months of his deal at Stamford Bridge.
Goal are reporting that contract talks have stalled between Chelsea and the player’s representatives, with the Blues’ latest offer still leaving Christensen amongst the club’s lowest earners.
There is understood to have been a two-month lack of contact over a new deal and the centre-back wil be free to negotiate a pre-contract agreement with foreign sides from January 1 if an agreement is not reached.
Tuchel this week discussed Christensen’s recent performances and insists he is ‘happy’ with the progress the Dane has made following an excellent start to the campaign.
“I think it is important we accept the personality of every player,” Tuchel said. “Some are more loud, some aggressive, some more calm. He’s a calm guy, very intelligent player, and sometimes you can get maybe a bit misled by judging him from his personality, because he is a hard defender and he is a guy who is not shy to have hard tackles and win challenges and step up in games. He found his place.
“He is very strong, very reliable and he has not reached his limits because in his age there is still room to improve. He can be a top defender for us in the next years and hopefully he will be because he comes from the academy.
“He knows what it takes and he has improved massively so far but it is not done yet – you have to show it over and over. There are big examples in this club of what it takes to be a legend in defence and there is still a way to go but we are very happy so far.”
