Andreas Christensen could be “the world’s best defensive player” | OneFootball

Andreas Christensen was always picked out as a player with a lot of potential, but years of not being able to establish himself  in the first team lead many to give up on him ever reaching that potential.

The last year has turned every doubter into a believer. In a well organised 343 he thrives, and his ability on the ball and his speed are perfect.

His international defensive partner Simon Kjaer knows all about “AC”‘s ability. According to him, we’ve still not even see the best of the centre back.

“I think he has all the prerequisites to become the world’s best defensive player,” SportWitness record Kjaer as saying.

“He reads the game completely uniquely. He is fantastic on the ball, fast and athletic.

He found plenty of fault with the quiet Christensen’s personality, however:

“He has to shout a little louder from time to time, but it has also gotten better. I think AC is a great defender.

“He has developed both on and off the field in the time he has been here. I still want more AC; I want more personality.

“It’s gotten better, but it’s one of those places where I want to keep pushing him a little bit.

“I want to demand more from him both on and off the field. It has got better, and in my world, he controls a little bit himself how far he wants to take it.”

We’ve seen a lot of Christensen now, and it’s hard to disagree with anything that Kjaer says here. But he has the important parts in place, the rest can still grow with time.

There’s certainly a lot he can learn from born leader Kjaer. Maybe once the 32 year old retires from Denmark duty, young Christensen can step up more as a leader in his place.