Antonio Conte has put his foot down and refused to sell promising young Danish defender Andreas Christensen after trying to bring the central defender back to Stamford Bridge in the summer, claim the Express. Currently on loan at Borussia Monchengladbach, the German side tried to make the deal permanent in the summer and Barcelona are also said to be monitoring the 20-year-old’s situation.
Conte has now told bosses that he will not allow Christensen to be sold as he sees him as one of the potential future pillars of his Chelsea defence as the Italian seeks to rebuild the Blues’ backline. Without Champions League football, it may be a challenge for the club to keep hold of him, but the Dane is a real talent and could become one of the best defenders in the world.
The Mirror report that AC Milan are now believed to be targeting a move for Belgian forward Michy Batshuayi as the summer signing struggles for game time in London. The San Siro outfit had previously hoped to secure a deal for Harry Kane, but Tottenham rule out even discussing a deal, and attentions will now turn to Batshuayi.
Since his £33 million move from Marseille, the 23-year-old has managed just 53 Premier League minutes and no starts to date, despite impressing in cameo roles and scoring twice against Bristol Rovers in the EFL Cup. He may be one for the future, but it is hard to see how he will remain happy in London when restricted to the bench.
The news represents a pattern of young players struggling to break through at Chelsea, as a new survey shows that Chelsea have the second worst record this season for giving opportunities to English players, claim the Daily Mail. With just 16% of the club’s Premier League minutes having been from English players, the Blues have the second lowest rate, just ahead of Watford.
Antonio Conte has been without one of his regulars in the form of John Terry, leaving Gary Cahill as the only regular English player in the Chelsea line-up. Youngsters such as Reuben Loftus-Cheek have featured, but there has been little hope for many other youngsters at the club to date.
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