Chelsea manager acknowledges Barcelona's potential defender signing

Xavi is keen to bolster his back line ahead of next season after focusing on the attack in January

Thomas Tuchel has accepted the possibility of Andreas Christensen signing a pre-contract agreement with a club outside England before the end of the current campaign. Barcelona are tipped to be his next destination, with the Catalan club keen to get the deal done in the coming weeks.

The Denmark international is seeking a new challenge and has rejected Chelsea's offer of a new deal thus far. Barcelona have been in talks with Christensen's representatives for a number of months with, reportedly just a few minor details left to ratify before an agreement can be reached.

Tuchel remains hopeful of Christensen staying, but admitted that there is a high chance he will leave the club when his contract expires in June. The German coach is confident the Blues can cope without the Dane next season, and made it clear that his departure will not become personal, as it is just part of the game.

"Well it's in doubt," Tuchel said, as quoted on ESPN. "We hear the rumours and the situation with Andreas is also since many weeks clear and we are not happy about it."

"Because we, I, me personally and club representatives, we think that it's best for him to stay. This is also a signal to us and the communication from his side is that he did not sign until now," he added. "So we have to consider the possibility that he leaves us. Will we like it? No. Will we live with it? Yes."

"Things are not personal, never, never should be personal. But this can happen. But I have no further information. Not even information that I don't want to share, just no information at all."

The 25-year-old defender has established himself as a key member of Tuchel's playing squad in the last two seasons. The German confirmed that Christensen's standing in the team will not change even if he agrees a pre-contract agreement with a foreign club in the coming weeks.

"He's still our player and we will do what's best for us until his contract expires," Tuchel said. "He's a Chelsea player, that's the point, and he knows we appreciate him a lot."