Thomas
Tuchel hopes Andreas Christensen seizes the opportunity to become a "huge
player" at Chelsea and ignores increasing speculation linking him with a
move away from Stamford Bridge.
Christensen's contract expires this summer and he has so far rejected the
Blues' offer of an extension, with the 25-year-old heavily linked with
Barcelona, who are reportedly keen to sign the Denmark international if he
becomes a free agent at the end of the season.
Tuchel was adamant the club would weather Christensen's departure but hopes
it doesn't come to that, issuing another plea for the centre-back to commit
his long-term future to the European champions and take full advantage of
the platform on offer at Chelsea.
"It's in doubt [whether he stays], we hear the rumours," the Chelsea boss
said. "The situation with Andreas has been clear for many weeks, we are not
happy about it because we - club representatives and I - think it's best for
him to stay, we rely heavily on him.
"He has not signed yet, so you cannot not communicate. This is a signal to
us, and communication from his side is that he has not signed up until now.
"We have to consider the possibility he will leave us. Will we like it? No.
Will we live with it? Yes. Things are not personal, they never should be,
this can happen, but I have no further information that I don't want to
share."
'Christensen at crucial moment of Chelsea
career'
Asked whether reports linking Christensen with a free transfer to Barcelona
in the summer would impact his first-team opportunities for the remainder of
the season, Tuchel added: "I don't think so. If things happen, I try not to
take things personally.
"He is still our player; we will do what is best for us until his contract
ends. He is a Chelsea player, that's the point. He knows we appreciate him a
lot.
"I think this is a crucial point of his Chelsea career. It's a crucial point
where he is at the perfect age, in the perfect moment, the system in which
we play, the guys who play at his side - considering all these
circumstances, this is the decisive moment for him to step up and be a huge
Chelsea player for the next years.
"If he decides otherwise, I will not take it personally - it doesn't matter
if I understand him or not - but I will treat him as my player until the
very last day."
Tuchel's defensive headache off the pitch was mirrored on it after he
confirmed that wing-back Reece James missed training ahead of Thursday's
Premier League trip to Norwich City with a muscular strain.
James had only just returned from a hamstring injury which kept him out of
Chelsea's first 12 matches of 2022.
The 22-year-old, who scored and assisted on his first start since December
in Saturday's 4-0 victory at Burnley, has not suffered a recurrence of the
same hamstring injury but Tuchel has revealed the initial prognosis does not
look good.
"Everybody was on the training pitch today except Ben Chilwell, of course,
and Reece James, who has a bit of muscular problems after three matches,"
Tuchel added. "Not his injured leg, the other leg.
"We thought he could maybe be on the pitch today, but he couldn't, so we
need further examination to see what is going on. Reece felt it during the
match [at Burnley], that's why we took him out - it didn't get better.
"We are worried but still we need more detail and information. There will be
further examinations today. It's obvious what he gives to our team and can
give to our team. It's not good news at the moment. It's a setback for sure,
I hope it's not a big one."
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