Erik ten Hag wants former Chelsea defender signed as Harry Maguire replacement - Reports

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag is reportedly interested in signing former Chelsea and current Barcelona defender Andreas Christensen.

Christensen joined Chelsea's U18 side from Danish side Brondby in 2012 before making his senior debut in 2015. He made 161 appearances for the Blues before leaving as a free agent last summer.

The Danish defender then joined Barcelona and had an excellent season, making 32 appearances across competitions. He helped them win the La Liga and the Supercopa de Espana last season.

As per El Nacional, Christensen's performances drew interest from Manchester United manager Ten Hag. The Red Devils were even looking to make a €40 million bid in the summer but didn't as the defender didn't want to leave Barcelona.

Barca were also keen to sell Christensen, hoping to make a profit on a player they signed for free. However, the defender is unwilling to leave and manager Xavi Hernandez also considers him an important player of the squad.

Manchester United, meanwhile, are hoping to part ways with Harry Maguire, who has fallen down the pecking order since Ten Hag's appointment last summer. The English centre-back has started just 16 games across competitions under the Dutchman.

Maguire had an offer from West Ham in the summer but the deal didn't go through. Manchester United now hope the Englishman could leave next summer and they will then look to replace him with Christensen.

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Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino calls for his side to be 'more naughty'

The west London side have had a poor start to the 2023-24 season, winning just one of their four games so far.

Chelsea have dominated all of their games so far but failed to convert their chances in most of them. Their only win came against a newly-promoted Luton Town, with losses against Nottingham Forest and West Ham United and a draw against Liverpool.

Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has asked his side to be more aggressive and competitive. He told the club's media:

"We need to be more naughty, we need to be more aggressive in this type of situation. When we defend we cannot let teams like Nottingham create only one chance in open play and concede this type of goal."

He added:

"But I mean to be naughty or aggressive in a good way, not to be violent. It’s not that we are too nice, we just need to compete better. We need to increase our level, not of our quality, but how we compete and knowing that every single moment of the game requires something to do."

"It is because we are still in the process of building the team and still we need to find that balance, but for sure it’s only a matter of time."

Chelsea will next face Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Sunday, September 17.