Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel is not concerned about Andreas Christensen's commitment to the cause at Stamford Bridge.
Centre-back Christensen was a crucial part of Chelsea's success under Tuchel last season.
However, the Denmark international is out of contract at the end of this season and so far no extension has been agreed.
According to reports, a move to Barcelona is already lined up, with Christensen thought to be one of the players Joan Laporta referred to when he confirmed that the Catalan giants had secured the signings of two out-of-contract players for next season.
Christensen last featured against Lille on March 16, having been left out for what Tuchel explained as tactical reasons on Saturday, when Chelsea were thrashed 4-1 by Brentford.
The 25-year-old's future was brought up in Tuchel's news conference ahead of Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final tie against Real Madrid, with the issue of a potential lack of commitment mooted.
"No. No concerns," Tuchel replied. "Maybe it is a bit more challenging for him than normal, in a moment where everything is clear or you're fully committed to the club you play for, which is us and Chelsea.
"Maybe he cleared his future, I don't know it yet, but for me it was very clear when I started, and the bottom line in conversations I had with him was that as long as you're my player I expect you to be 100 per cent committed and I will not accept anything less.
"I will not start digging into how committed is he now, this only leads to distraction. This is what I demand from him. That he was out on Saturday was only a tactical choice to play with a back four.
"He is our player and we want to have the most of him. He needs to be focused, he needs to be determined, and this is what we expect from him. And I think it is what we can expect from him."
Christensen has featured 26 times in all competitions for Chelsea this term, starting seven games out of the eight the Blues have played in the Champions League.
While it seems likely this season will be Christensen's last at Chelsea, Tuchel has no ill feelings towards him.
The German does, however, believe that Christensen should remember the opportunities he has had to develop at Chelsea.
"The situation of the club was pretty sure. I think I gave you an honest statement that he is in exactly the right place for his journey," Tuchel said.
"That he could continue with this club and become the defender that he can be, the real personality and the playing minutes figure that he wants to be.
"In my opinion, he shouldn't forget where he comes from, where his education comes from, where is home and that's just my opinion. He needs that kind of environment to bring the best out of him.
"That's just my opinion and I gave it some weeks ago but the talks in autumn and the summer were constant talks. We are in exchange with our players of course. I hope that my talks didn't make him want to leave but I don't think so.
"You cannot take these things personally. If he decides to take his career elsewhere, it is his decision. We understand it, maybe we don't need to agree. We will not take it personally.
"As long as he is our player, he is our player and I will not stop demanding from him. He needs to be fully, fully committed, this is what we expect and have experienced. You will have to ask him about his decision and what the reasons are."
Edwards urges Luton Town to ignore scrutiny on relegation battle
Rob Edwards is keen for Luton Town to ignore the scrutiny surrounding them in the relegation battle as they prepare for another big game against Wolves.
The Hatters sit one point from safety in the relegation zone after back-to-back 5-1 defeats against Manchester City and Brentford.
While Nottingham Forest also lost last weekend, being beaten 2-0 by Everton, Burnley beat Sheffield United to move them two points behind Luton.
Asked how he is handling the pressure of the relegation battle with only four games left, Edwards said: “The stakes are high already, we all know what it means and it's really important to everyone that's in this at the moment, a number of clubs that are still fighting to try and avoid it and be in the league next season, it's so important.
“Everyone wants to try and stoke the fire I think. We've got a title race on at one end and obviously, there's a relegation battle we're involved in. It's exciting, it's good that we're in the fight, and we've got a chance to get out of it, but really, all I am concerned about right now is our performance tomorrow.”
Glasner challenges Crystal Palace to extend winning run
Oliver Glasner is hopeful that Crystal Palace can maintain their recent winning run when they travel to Fulham on Saturday.
After a run of five games without a victory, the Eagles have won each of their last three games, beating Liverpool, West Ham and Newcastle United.
Their 2-0 win over the Magpies on Wednesday also secured their Premier League safety for another season.
Glasner has given credit to his team’s attitude in turning around their recent run of form but does not want them to slow down despite reaching their goal.
He said: “The players give us confidence because they are listening. Every day we were sitting here and having a meeting and showing them videos and nobody was sleeping, so that gives us good feedback!
"Now we have 39 points and I think it shouldn't be our target to say ‘39 points, oh well done, staying in the Premier League’ because then I would say 'come on guys, go wherever you want and take vacations' – but no.
"We want to improve, we want to win games, and we have the next chance tomorrow at Fulham."
Columbus Crew v CF Montreal: Nancy proud of resilient Champions Cup performance
Wilfried Nancy was delighted with the spirit and grit his Columbus Crew team displayed as they sealed a 2-1 CONCACAF Champions Cup win over CF Monterrey.
The Crew are in a great position to progress to the Champions Cup final after their first-leg win in midweek.
Now, Nancy will turn his focus to a league clash with his former club CF Montreal, but he stressed his pride with his team for their performance against Monterrey.
“I'm really proud of the guys,” said Nancy.
“Because we did a really good game in terms of when we had the difficult moments, we were together. And when we had the ball, we tried to play our game and we had good opportunities also, and we were able to unbalance them.
“We try to convince [the squad] that when we play high-level sport, it's a game of mistakes.
The idea is no matter what happened, can we find a way to bounce back? So we work on that during the practice, but at the end of the day, you have to live this situation. And I think that we've worked upon in the past. So now they’ve been better and the chemistry is better. And they were able to sort it out.”
The Crew are the reigning MLS Cup champions, though they have drawn their last three league fixtures.
While Columbus sit fourth in the Eastern Conference, Montreal are three points back in 10th place.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Columbus Crew – Cucho Hernandez
Hernandez scored his 34th MLS goal (including playoffs) in the Crew’s draw on Saturday. Only the Philadelphia Union’s Daniel Gazdag (36) has more goals than Hernández since he made his MLS debut in July 2022.
CF Montreal – Ariel Lassiter
Lassiter put CF Montreal ahead against Orlando on Saturday with an 88th-minute goal, only to see the Lions equalize in stoppage time. It marked just the second time in club history that Montreal scored a go-ahead goal after the 75th minute but failed to win the match, also doing so against the Fire in 2017.
MATCH PREDICTION: COLUMBUS WIN
Montreal have lost 17 of their 25 away matches in all competitions (W5 D3) dating back to the start of last season, being outscored, 56-21, in those games.
Columbus are unbeaten in 17 straight regular-season home matches (W12 D5) following a pair of draws with D.C. United and the Portland Timbers. The only longer run in club history was a 22-match streak in 2008—09.
Columbus won both of their matches against Montreal last season after winning just two of the previous eight (D2 L4). Montreal (2-1 in August 2022) are one of two visiting teams to record a win at Lower.com Field since June 2022.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Columbus Crew – 56.4%
CF Montreal – 18.6%
Draw – 25%
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