Clarifying the fact that there has been a second delay over Christensen’s contract, Tuchel added: “I have no good news. That was my understanding weeks ago that Andreas wants the same as me, that he wants the same as the club, and that’s why for me it was a zero problem situation because everybody wanted the same as far as I understood it. But we have been waiting for a long time now for confirmation.
“And it is on Andreas to act how he acts on the pitch. He needs to act now off the pitch and walk the talk because he tells us that he loves Chelsea, he tells us that he wants to stay and be a big part, because he is a big part of a big club, and I think he is a perfect fit and I think that he is not done yet here.
“His career here is, by far, not finished, [he] can still develop and be a big, big player. But, like I said, it’s on him, it’s on him. We want the commitment and hopefully we get it.”
Christensen may wonder why he was dropped for not signing a new contract when Antonio Rudiger has not agreed an extension to his deal that also expires at the end of the season and has continued to start every game.
But Rudiger has never agreed a deal and then either moved the goalposts or delayed signing a contract, having rejected Chelsea’s first proposal that was worth around £140,000-a-week. In the eyes of Tuchel, the German has at least remained consistent.
The current situation means that both Christensen and Rudiger could, in theory, agree deals with overseas clubs in January which would raise question marks over their commitment for the second half of the season.
Captain Cesar Azpilicueta and Thiago Silva are also out of contract at the end of the season, but their situations are rated different to those of Christensen and Rudiger because both men are aged over 30.
The expectation is Azpilicueta and Silva will be offered one-year extensions, which they are likely to accept with minimal fuss, later in the season.
Already without Ben Chilwell, N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic, Tuchel also has doubts over the fitness of Jorginho, Reece James and Timo Werner heading into the Watford match.
