Atletico Madrid to rival Barcelona for Chelsea star | OneFootball

Chelsea defender Andreas Christensen is set to be a man in demand in the summer transfer window as his contract with the club winds down. Barcelona are strongly interested in signing the 25-year-old but are likely to face some stern competition in pursuit of the Dane.

Indeed, Fichajes is reporting that the Blaugrana will have to compete with reigning La Liga champions and arch-rivals Atletico Madrid in the race to land the Chelsea defender.

The Rojiblancos have been surprisingly shoddy in defence this season with Stefan Savic struggling with fitness issues while the likes of Felipe, Mario Hermoso and Jose Maria Gimenez have been poor on a regular basis.

As a result, manager Diego Simeone is keen on adding a new defender to the ranks in the summer and has identified Christensen as a target.

Barcelona have been linked heavily with a move for the Denmark international for quite some time now. With Gerard Pique’s career winding down and the likes of Samuel Umtiti and Clement Lenglet staring at uncertain futures at Camp Nou, a new centre-half becomes a necessity in the summer.

Christensen makes for an ideal target for the Blaugrana due to various factors. Firstly, he would be available on a free transfer, which would be very much appealing to the club given their financial situation.

At 25, he has his best years well ahead of him, but at the same time, he has gathered plenty of experience at the highest level playing for a club like Chelsea. In addition to that, his ball-playing abilities would make him a good fit into the team that Xavi Hernandez is building at Camp Nou.

But with increasing competition, signing him could become tricky for the Catalan giants. Apart from Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich are also believed to be interested in the Dane. Furthermore, Borussia Dortmund and AC Milan are also keen on signing the defender, while a contract renewal at Chelsea cannot be ruled out either.