The defender has gone from strength to strength under our German head coach, scoring his first Blues goal earlier in the season and contributing to the outstanding defensive solidity that is helping to build our current success.

The Danish international has been on the Chelsea bench for the last three matches, and Tuchel is hoping this influences the contract talks to progress even further.

‘No, it is the opposite,’ Tuchel replied when asked if a lack of playing time hinders his chances of a new deal. ‘We have to hope that it influences the contract situation a little bit. My understanding was that it is a matter of a very short period that we have good news.

‘I said this in the national break, that for me it is a matter of days that we think that we can have good news about Andreas.

‘As I understand it, the club want the same, and so do the coach and player. That is to stay, and that’s why we need the commitment and then we can continue.’

However, the Bavarian has put the onus on the Dane's camp to finalise the negotiations and pen his long-term future to the club.

‘We have been waiting since a long time now for confirmation and it is on Andreas to act how he acts on the pitch. He needs to act now off the pitch and walk the talk because he tells us he loves Chelsea and that he wants to stay,’ said Tuchel.

‘He says he wants to be a big part of this club, because he is a big part, and I think he is a perfect fit. He is not done here yet and his career is far from finished at Chelsea.

'He can still develop and be a big player. But it is on him. We want the commitment and hopefully we get it.’