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Tag: Tuchel

  • EPL: Romelu Lukaku must be patient to start – Tuchel

    EPL: Romelu Lukaku must be patient to start – Tuchel

    Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel says Romelu Lukaku isn’t yet ready to start in the Premier League.

    Lukaku has recovered from an ankle injury, but didn’t get on the pitch in defeat at West Ham until the second-half on Saturday.

    Tuchel explained: “There’s such a high intensity in the matches.

    “I know Romelu is pushing, that’s the nature of the beast. But there’s a big difference between being ready to train and being competitive. And then there’s being ready for the Premier League.

    “We have to build up slowly. And he has to be patient.”

  • Why I sold Kurt Zouma to London rivals – Tuchel

    Why I sold Kurt Zouma to London rivals – Tuchel

    Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has explained selling Kurt Zouma to London rivals, West Ham.

    Tuchel has explained the reasons behind allowing Zouma to leave for West Ham in the summer – insisting he wanted the defender to stay and fight for his place.

    “We replaced him with Trevoh (Chalobah) because we had the faith and trust in him. Until this moment, we could not allow him to go because of course we are selfish and have to see that we have a strong squad,” he said.

    “But we have to see the situation of Kurt also and his point of view. He is a strong player, an experienced Premier League player. He suffered from the decision for us with (Cesar) Azpi in the back three, with Andreas (Christensen) in the back three, Toni (Rudiger) in the back three, as direct competitors to his place.

    “So he did not get enough minutes for his status or his quality and where he wants to be in this time of his career.

    “We had many talks about it in pre-season where we reflected on his position and our position. The more we got to know Trevoh we thought maybe if Kurt has a constant wish to go…

    “For many, many weeks there was not an awful lot of interest in him. I made it clear, I love Kurt, I told him ‘I love you, we don’t have to have these talks. I am happy for you to stay even if Trevoh comes in.’

    “I was happy for him to stay. He is a top-quality player and could have stayed to fight for his place. And you always have a chance to play, but it’s hard competition.

    “He accepted it. Then very late this offer came from West Ham. So we had this talk and he decided this is an offer that might be the perfect for him.

    “We took a bit of a risk to fully trust Trevoh because we did not know at the moment if he could reach the consistent levels and I think we got rewarded.”

  • Thomas Tuchel addresses Ziyech exit rumours

    Thomas Tuchel addresses Ziyech exit rumours

    Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has dismissed talk of Hakim Ziyech leaving in January.

    Ziyech has been linked with Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund in recent days.

    “In the moment, here in Cobham there an no thoughts about his future or a potential change, a swap deal or whatever in winter, I have talked to nobody about it here in Cobham,” Tuchel stated.

    “Hakim was not in my office to express a wish like this. Right now, he is an important guy. He is very talented, very ambitious and he is a full part of the squad.

    “He was last season and is this season. We expect the very best of him all the time, but it is tough competition. I cannot let everybody play all the time for 90 minutes. It is simply not possible.”

    Tuchel also stated: “I said many times, he was brilliant in pre-season.

    “He had a major injury which was a huge setback. He played after his shoulder injury with pain and huge protection that kept him from being totally free which is necessary for his game, his movement and mobility, and his position and style of play.

    “So now he stepped up in the last games, we had some injuries, he took the chance to have more game time, like Callum [Hudson-Odoi] did and he was decisive. He assisted and scored. It’s good.”

  • Why Tuchel signed Chelsea flop from Atletico Madrid

    Why Tuchel signed Chelsea flop from Atletico Madrid

    Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel was never keen on taking Atletico Madrid midfielder Saul Niguez on-loan this season.

    The Blues completed a deadline day swoop for the former Atletico Madrid midfielder – signing him on loan with an option to make the deal permanent next summer.

    However, Cadena SER says Tuchel only signed the 26-year-old for £4million as a “favour” to his representatives.

    Saul has failed to make an impact since moving to Chelsea – having only featured five times for Tuchel’s side since making his debut against Aston Villa on September 11.

    He was hooked at half-time during that encounter and didn’t feature in their next five Premier League outings before making a short cameo in a 3-0 win at Newcastle on October 30.

  • Tuchel reacts as Hudson-Odoi snubs England call-up

    Tuchel reacts as Hudson-Odoi snubs England call-up

    Chelsea boss, Thomas Tuchel, has reacted to Callum Hudson-Odoi’s decision to snub the call up to the England U21 team.

    Tuchel said he did not play any role in Hudson-Odoi’s decision to reject the chance to play for the England

    Callum turned down the opportunity to represent England’s Under-21 side because the 20-year-old was rather expecting a call up to the senior national team.

    England coach, Gareth Southgate had complained bitterly over the player’s action, adding that Callum had missed the opportunity to convince the senior team coaches to monitor his growth.

    He was said to have rejected that chance in a bid to solidify his place in Tuchel’s Chelsea plans during the international break.

    He said: “I can understand if people don’t understand it. I don’t read judgements from outside. Callum is aware that if he takes a decision, not everyone will be happy,” Tuchel told reporters during his press conference on Friday.

    “You should ask Callum about it and he probably has a good reason why he is not joining and why personally it’s better to stay and be in training. It is easy to judge from outside. We should hear both sides if you want his case to be solved.

    “I am not involved and I am happy because I don’t think I am here to convince players to join when they don’t feel they want to join.

    “We do the best of the situation and if there are consequences then I’m sure he’ll take them because he is a young adult.”

  • Tuchel puts Saul on notice ahead of Newcastle clash

    Tuchel puts Saul on notice ahead of Newcastle clash

    Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has put Saul Niguez on notice ahead of going to Newcastle United.

    Tuchel was discussing how he’ll cover injury victim Mateo Kovacic.

    He said, “I miss Mateo a lot, he has been a key factor till now and it’s really sad to see him get injured in the very last second of the training on Thursday.

    “But actually in midfield, and hopefully it stays like this, we have still Jorginho, N’Golo, Ruben who comes back after only two or three days out, and we have Saul, so there’s still a lot of quality we can use to compensate.

    “You cannot predict that you will lose three key offensive players at the same time, this is quite unlucky, and you cannot have a squad with five, six or seven key players and three of them constantly waiting for another three to get injured. This does not exist in real life.

    “I’m happy with the guys who will be on the pitch today, they earned our trust. We arrived at this group of 18 plus goalkeepers and we are capable of pushing the limits so high that we can win consecutive games. There is no doubt about it.

    “There’s a bit of a stretch at the moment, the group is tested, and we want to prove we are a strong group and can compensate for situations like this.”

  • Mendy shouldn’t let Ballon d’Or snub upset him – Tuchel

    Mendy shouldn’t let Ballon d’Or snub upset him – Tuchel

    Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel insists goalkeeper Edouard Mendy isn’t letting his Ballon d’Or get to him after victory over Norwich City.

    Last season, Mendy broke an English club record for clean sheets recorded in the Champions League, helping them win.

    Asked on Saturday whether he felt his first-choice keeper should have been on the list, Tuchel replied: “Yes… but no.

    “I’m happy and it is more important that he performs like this than he is on any list.

    “It should not – I hope it does not – bother him because it does not bother me too much and it seems like he is not influenced by that, which is a good thing.”

  • Race on to replace Lukaku, Werner – Tuchel

    Race on to replace Lukaku, Werner – Tuchel

    Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel rallied the club’s bit-part players Thursday by saying the race was on for them to prove themselves after Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner were injured.

    Lukaku sustained an ankle injury and Werner hurt his hamstring during the first half of the 4-0 home victory over Malmo FC in UEFA Champions League Group H on Wednesday.

    Belgium striker Lukaku was injured by a tackle from Lasse Nielsen which resulted in a penalty kick Jorginho confidently dispatched to add to Andreas Christensen’s opener.

    Kai Havertz replaced Lukaku and scored Chelsea’s third before playing a role in another penalty kick for the Blues which was converted by Jorginho.

    Chelsea have five games to come over the next 17 days and Tuchel said there can be no excuses for a decline in results.

    That is if Lukaku and Werner are sidelined for an extended period.

    “We have a twisted ankle with Romelu and a hamstring injury for Timo. So, they will be out for some days, I guess,” Tuchel said.

    “Normally we’re in a good place injury-wise —— we had only Christian Pulisic out. But we miss everybody.

    “We have a lot of games to play, a lot of competitions. Now we have to find solutions. No excuses accepted.

    “The two were in good shape and were dangerous and could create and score.

    “Now we need to find solutions and guys who waited for their chance need to step up and prove that they can do the same thing.

    “Whoever it might be, the race is on. The guys who will start against Norwich in the next game have our trust. We will try to find new solutions.

    “Let’s stay positive. We won games before without Timo and we won games before without Romelu. We don’t want to have these problems too often, but these things happen in the season.”

    Havertz could now be in line to start against Norwich City in the Premier League on Saturday.

    He said: “I came from the bench, you always have to be ready. It is always tough to come in, but I tried to do my best in the second half to score a goal. So, it is a nice feeling.

  • We’re discussing Haaland at Chelsea – Tuchel

    We’re discussing Haaland at Chelsea – Tuchel

    Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has again stated his interest in Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland.

    Despite their swoop for Romelu Lukaku from Inter Milan, Chelsea are also maintaining an interest in Haaland.

    Tuchel told BILD: “We have talked about Erling Haaland several times and also during the transfer window. But then it seemed unrealistic and not at all possible to implement.

    “But we are talking about him, because he is a fantastic player and the decisive player in Dortmund.

    “It has never been really serious. But let’s see what happens in the next few weeks.”

  • Tuchel sends message to Saul after difficult start at Chelsea

    Tuchel sends message to Saul after difficult start at Chelsea

    Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has told Saul Niguez that hard work will earn him minutes in his side.

    The Spaniard has failed to secure a regular first-team spot since sealing a loan move from Atletico Madrid on transfer deadline day.

    After the 3-1 win over Southampton, Tuchel told the media: “He does not need to worry. Just work hard and adapt and the chances will come.

    “We have only 11 to give a chance. I would like to see it in a positive way.

    “If you turn it around of course you have eight players who we didn’t trust today from the beginning. This is a reality. I cannot hide from this reality.

    “I will always do my choices in the best belief for the team and best belief in this moment and for these type of games. There will always be tactical choices and choices of current form and of connections on the field.

    “Particularly about Saul, he was very, very close to start today. In the end I decided against him because I thought to put him in another high pressing match, an opponent pressing so high in the centre of the pitch, would it be fair to say ‘okay, now prove it and let’s see if your adaption has gone further’ and I hesitated a little bit.

    “I have to take the selection and take the responsibility for the selection and eight players today did not like it. It is also life at Chelsea and we have to keep on going and keep everyone positive.

    “The guys have to work for their form because form is most important – form and confidence and a positive attitude. He has everything.”