Man Utd and Newcastle monitoring ball-playing Barcelona defender

 

 

Premier League pair Manchester United and Newcastle are two of a number of sides keeping tabs on Barcelona centre-back Andreas Christensen, reports Spanish publication Sport. 

 

Christensen, who has been named Danish Player of the Year for 2023, only moved to Barcelona last summer but a return to England has been mooted. 

 

Both United and Newcastle are looking to strengthen at centre-back where possible though they are unlikely to make a move for Christensen in January and instead pursue the Denmark international in the summer. 

 

Christensen has been a key player for Barcelona following his arrival from Chelsea last year, starting 14 of 19 league matches. 

 

In that time, Christensen has returned a pass success rate of 95.9%, that better than any other player in Europe's top five leagues this season. 

 

 

Barcelona would be keen to retain the 27-year-old but their well-publicised financial issues means they may be forced into selling the Danish defender in the off-season. 

 

Blaugrana boss Xavi has a wealth of centre-back options at his disposal which may soften the blow of potentially cashing in on Christensen in the summer.