Why Chelsea Are Wrong to Send Andreas Christensen out on Loan Again

When John Terry was coming through the ranks and learning his trade at Chelsea, it was Marcel Desailly who played a big part in his development.

The influence of the Frenchman on the youngster’s career was significant. Desailly would lead by example and when the time called for it, he gave Terry the advice every up-and-coming player needs in order to succeed.

It’s something Terry himself has spoken about at length, although it wasn’t just Desailly’s influence that played a part—it was playing football matches.

“Initially it meant so much to me just to break into the side. There were people like Frank Leboeuf, Desailly and Emerson Thome in front of me,” Terry once recalled in a Chelsea magazine interview, reflecting on how he started to become a more established presence under Claudio Ranieri.

“Then, all of a sudden, we weren’t doing so well and Ranieri put me in out of the blue. That was a progressive achievement in itself.”

Note how it was Chelsea’s failure on the pitch that gave Terry his chance. It wasn’t a burning desire to find some way for this talented young kid to play; it was necessity. When things were bright and the team was succeeding, Ranieri could hardly put a young player in ahead of World Cup winners and seasoned professionals.

It was when things took a turn for the worse that Terry got his chance. Chelsea’s ageing back line was growing stale and needed freshening up. Ranieri had a choice to make: buy a new defender to strengthen or reinforce from within.

He chose the latter and the rest is history. John Terry became John Terry.

6️⃣6️⃣% challenge success rate, 3️⃣ goals.Defender @abchristensen96 is a key man at @borussia_en. pic.twitter.com/Pyti0dPGYW

— Bundesliga English (@Bundesliga_EN) August 7, 2016

A struggling back line; ageing defenders. It all sounds rather familiar for Chelsea right now. For Desailly 15 years ago, think Terry in his present guise; for Leboeuf, think Gary Cahill.

Current head coach Antonio Conte has some big issues to address in defence, but if he wants to turn to some of Chelsea’s younger talent for the answers, he can’t. They’re mostly out on loan.

Andreas Christensen is the player with the biggest profile of the bunch. He’s played a handful of games for Chelsea—mostly out of position at right-back under Jose Mourinho—but it’s for Borussia Monchengladbach where he has caught the eye and really …

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