Chelsea Boss Tuchel Opens Up About $40M Star's Contract Situation: 'I Have No Good News'

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has opened up on Andreas Christensen’s contract situation, saying, "I have no good news," and adding the defender must now "walk the talk" and act off the pitch.

Christensen’s current contract with Chelsea is due to expire at the end of the 2021-22 season. The Blues offered the Denmark national a four-year extension in August with a significant pay raise, but both the parties have been at loggerheads ever since as Christensen is yet to commit to the club, according to Goal.

In a recent interview, Tuchel admitted that Christensen has not featured in Chelsea’s last three games in a bid to push the young center-back to take a call on his future at Stamford Bridge soon.

"I have no good news. That was my understanding weeks ago that Andreas wants the same as me, that he wants the same as the club, and that’s why for me it was a zero problem situation because everybody wanted the same as far as I understood it," Tuchel was quoted by Chelsea’s official website, as saying in a pre-match conference Tuesday.

"We are waiting since a long time now for confirmation. It is on Andreas to act how he acts on the pitch, he needs to act now off the pitch, and walk the talk because he tells us that he loves Chelsea, he tells us that he wants to stay and be a big part, because he is a big part of a big club, and I think he is a perfect fit and I think that he is not done yet here," Tuchel added in the same press conference.

Chelsea believed that they had agreed to terms with Christensen's representative over a new contract in August. While nothing was signed, a new dispute arose over the length of the proposed deal and his agent’s commission, according to soccer website Football.London.

While Tuchel and Chelsea reportedly want Christensen to continue at Stamford Bridge, the Danish defender will be allowed to begin negotiations with other clubs from Jan. 1, 2022. If Chelsea fail to reach an agreement with Christensen before that, they may lose the defender for free whose current market value is around $40 million, according to Transfermarkt.

"His career here is, by far, not finished, [he] can still develop and be big, big player, but like I said, it’s on him, it’s on him. We want the commitment and, hopefully, we get it," Tuchel added further ahead of Chelsea’s league clash with Watford.

Christensen made 13 competitive appearances for Chelsea in the 2021-22 campaign.