Chelsea’s hopes of recalling Andreas Christensen from his loan spell at Borussia Mönchengladbach are set to be dashed by the player, with the Denmark defender keen to continue pursuing first-team opportunities with the Bundesliga club.

Christensen, signed from Brondby as a 15-year-old in 2012, joined Gladbach on a two-year loan deal last summer without break clauses after signing a long-term contract at Stamford Bridge and has started 24 games there. The 19-year-old centre-half has also featured in the Champions League against Manchester City and Juventus, with his performances having attracted scouts from Bayern Munich and clubs in Spain.

So impressive have the reports of his progress been in Germany that Chelsea have been exploring ways to curtail the loan agreement after 12 months, potentially with Nathan Aké – currently on a year-long spell with Watford – moving to Gladbach effectively as a replacement. Chelsea are planning for life without John Terry, whose contract expires in the summer, and have lost Kurt Zouma most likely until October after he suffered knee ligament damage, so are seeking to reinforce the defensive ranks to be inherited by their incoming manager, presumed to be Antonio Conte.

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Cutting short the loan would need agreement from all three parties but, whereas Gladbach might have considered an offer, Christensen is understood to be more inclined to remain in Germany in the knowledge he will benefit from regular football for a further season. The Dane, capped four times, is making that decision on the assumption that, once the new manager is granted transfer funds and Zouma returns to fitness, he may find himself the third- or fourth-choice centre-back at Stamford Bridge and reduced to appearances in the domestic cup competitions at best.

Chelsea will compete with Manchester City for Everton’s John Stones again this summer and Conte would like to be reunited with Leonardo Bonucci, whom he coached at Juventus. The Turin club will attempt to resist that interest.

There is interest also in the Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly and Roma’s Kostas Manolas. Koulibaly is considering a new contract at Napoli that would include a hefty buyout clause for the 24-year-old set in excess of £30m.