Andreas Christensen’s father, Sten, has admitted that Chelsea have until Christmas to start using the promising centre-back on a regular basis or he will look for a move away from the club in January.
Christensen finds himself at Stamford Bridge after two successful seasons on loan at Borussia Monchengladbach but is not prepared to consider another temporary switch away from the club, according to Sten, who also acts as his agent.
The 22-year-old has yet to feature for the Blues this season as they have made an unbeaten start to the Premier League with Antonio Rudiger and David Luiz at the heart of their defence.
And though Christensen has appeared in cup competitions, this is not sufficient for the promising youngster.
“If his situation doesn’t change around Christmas, we’ll obviously schedule a chat with Chelsea and say: ‘Okay, what can we do for Andreas? Can we move him?’” Sten told Danish television.
“For me it’s not a loan again. Either it’s Chelsea or else he needs to leave. I don’t think a loan is the optimal situation for Andreas. It’s sort of either or.
“I think, unfortunately, Chelsea have too many players who just go out on loan if [the club] isn’t going to use them and I don’t think Andreas should get caught in that.
“I’m of the conviction that we’ll attempt to move Andreas in the winter time [if he’s not playing]. Around Christmas, something else needs to happen.”
Chelsea have conceded only once in three matches when Christensen has been on the pitch this term, but was notably not even included in the matchday squad in each of the last three Premier League matches.
Sarri, meanwhile, is not willing to write the youngster off.
“I am not interested with his father,” the manager said. “I think in the first part of the season David Luiz and Antonio Rudiger have played very well so it is not easy to change. In the last six matches, he has played in three. For his father the Europa League may not be important, but for us it is.
“He is young, he can improve. He is a technical player so is suitable for our way of football.”
Since moving to Chelsea from Brondby in 2012 as a 16-year-old, Christensen has featured 28 times in the league for the Blues, all but one of these coming last year under Antonio Conte.
He was, however, a regular with Monchengladbach and has featured on a consistent basis with Denmark, earning 20 caps as the national team set enjoyed a record undefeated run that ended when their senior players were frozen out last month over a dispute with the football association.