Former Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard has today lavished praise on young Blues’ defender Andreas Christensen.

Gifted prospect

Christensen, a 21-year-old Danish central defender, has been on the books of Chelsea since 2012, when he joined the club’s youth setup from Brondby.

The talented youngster was sent out on loan from 2015 to 2017, enjoying a hugely impressive spell with Bundesliga club Borussia Monchengladbach.

He has long been regarded as one of the finest young stoppers in world football, and made his return to Stamford Bridge to join up with Antonio Conte’s Blues last summer.

Impressing

And Christensen has certainly not taken long to adjust to the rigours of English football, already proving himself as one of Chelsea’s most dependable defenders on his way to 20 Premier League appearances this season.

Antonio Conte recently referred to Christensen as ‘the present and future for Chelsea,’ while the club’s loan technical coach, Eddie Newton, had the following to say regarding the young stopper:

‘Andreas is a player that we can definitely have here for the next 10 years. He is another John Terry for me, and has that same kind of stature because he has got that ability.’

‘This season, he stepped in against Tottenham and Manchester United and it was like he has been there all his life. He is an incredible footballer and one this club should keep hold of very tightly.’

‘Handle anything’

And, speaking in an interview with the Evening Standard last night, former Chelsea midfielder and all-time top scorer Frank Lampard was the latest to lavish praise on Christensen, discussing the Dane’s promise as a teenager, importance to the current Blues’ backline, and how the touted arrival of Virgil Van Dijk at Stamford Bridge would have affected the youngster:

‘Even if Van Dijk had come in, the player Christensen is, he’d have handled anything.’

‘You put a team around those players even at his age. He wouldn’t have had a problem whoever they signed.’

‘I trained with him a fair bit when I was still there. We were all very aware of his abilities.’

‘He came over to join in senior sessions when he was 16 and was very impressive.’

‘Some young players were not ready for the increase in speed of the game, to make decisions and choices on the ball when they were invited to join in.’

‘But even at that young age you could see he had composure and an awareness about him that made him fit straight in.’

‘Chelsea have signed him to a long-term contract so you can put whatever figure you want on it. But they are never going to sell him. He is not going anywhere.’

‘It’s very important that he’s back fit again for these big games because he is a key player and this is crunch time of the season.’

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