Chelsea 'expecting' Christensen will leave with teammates resigned to his exit

Chelsea are expecting Andreas Christensen's departure at the end of the season with his teammates resigned to that fact.

The Denmark international will see his contract expire when the current campaign ends while there is plenty of interest in his services.

That will be a huge blow to the Blues if the centre-back is allowed to leave for nothing after his deal comes to an end.

Contract negotiations had been going on all year and at the start of the season it appeared that an agreement would be reached.

In fact, only Christensen 's last minute decision to up his demands, forced all parties back to the negotiation table and no resolution has been found.

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With little progress being made over the subsequent months, all parties appear to be too far away now for a breakthrough ahead of the summer transfer window opening.

And it has left Chelsea expecting Christensen's departure while his teammates have already accepted that the 25-year-old will not be there next season, report Sky Sports Germany.

Bayern Munich are one of the frontrunners to sign the defender on a free transfer as they look to replace Niklas Sule.

The German international will also see his contract expire at the end of the season and has already agreed to join Borussia Dortmund this summer.

That will leave Bayern threadbare at the back having already lost David Alaba and Jerome Boateng on free transfers last year.

Barcelona are in the race for Christensen's signature as well with club president Joan Laporta scouring the bargain bin amid their current financial situation.

As well as the Dane, the Blaugrana are chasing Cesar Azpilicueta from Chelsea with the Spaniard's contract also expiring at the end of the season.

Losing Christensen would be a huge blow to the Blues, who have developed him from the age of 14 after he joined from Brondby as a youngster.

The former Borussia Monchengladbach loanee has been an important member of the squad for Thomas Tuchel this season and was a huge part of the Champions League winning team last year.

After Thiago Silva's injury in the final against Manchester City, Christensen stepped up in his place to put in an impeccable display as Chelsea landed victory in Porto.

As well as Christensen and Azpilicueta, Antonio Rudiger will also see his terms expire this summer but there is more positivity over the German re-signing.

Chelsea have already identified Sevilla star Jules Kounde as a potential replacement having missed out on the Frenchman last summer.