Andreas Christensen hopes that his long-awaited free transfer to Barcelona will be confirmed ‘soon’.
Christensen’s departure from Chelsea at the end of his contract was finally confirmed this month, and a summer switch to Barcelona has been on the cards for months – he has been eligible to negotiate a deal since entering the final six months of his contract in January.
The Danish defender was initially expected to stay at Stamford Bridge, but his head was gradually turned by Barça and by March he was already close to a pre-contract agreement.
Now, he has told Danish publication B.T. that an announcement at Camp Nou is, “Hopefully soon.”
He explained, “I have known what I was going to do for a while. I'm just waiting for the right time. Unfortunately, it's not entirely up to me. There are also other things that need to fall into place.”
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Despite much publicised financial trouble at Barcelona over the last couple of years – one director recently revealed the club still desperately needs €500m to save itself – Christensen is adamant that joining them is still a hugely prestigious career milestone.
“It is one of the biggest clubs in Europe,” he said. “I think it is for everyone - whether they have had their problems or not, it is still one of the biggest clubs for a player to get to.”
Christensen may not be the only player who swaps Chelsea for Barcelona this summer. 90min understands that Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso also remain keen on heading to Camp Nou.
Azpilicueta has just one year left on his Chelsea contract and has privately expressed a desire for a new challenge after spending a decade with the Blues – prior to the takeover he had a ‘gentleman’s agreement’ that he would be allowed to leave for only a small transfer fee.
Chelsea are willing to let Alonso leave and are expected to replace him in the squad with the returning Emerson Palmieri, who spent 2021/22 on loan at Lyon.
In the other direction, Chelsea remain in talks with representatives of Barcelona winger Ousmane Dembele and are confident of securing the Frenchman on a free transfer.
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Source : 90min