Poor form is not Saul his fault

Tuchel backs his under-fire Spain star

THOMAS TUCHEL has leapt to the defence of Saul Niguez after he again became a target for the Chelsea boo-boys.

The midfielder has had a torrid time since arriving on loan from Atletico Madrid in the summer and has been substituted at half-time in his two Premier League starts for the Blues.

Saul (right) came on for his fourth top-flight appearance in the 1-1 draw with Everton in midweek, midway through the second half, and post-match copped all sorts of online flak from Chelsea supporters for his performance.

Tuchel (above) said of the 27-year-old, who has won 19 caps for Spain: “Does Saul feel the same as he did at Atletico and the same guy with the same role and responsibility? No, maybe not yet.

“Does he struggle? Yes, he struggles.

“Is he the first player to struggle coming to the Premier League? No. And he will not be the last one.

“We will protect our players. I will protect my players always.

“On Thursday, he played as a No.6, as a No.9 and as a wing-back. Is that fair to him? No, it is not.

“So this needs to be put into context and then we have to have a bit more of a moderate picture and a more moderate reaction.

“I understand that people are disappointed after Thursday, but reactions like this are exactly the reasons why I do not involve myself in social media.

“I protect myself because this is when it can get carried away and I only hope that Saul does not read it because why should he?

“He knows what we think about him, he knows what he has to do to improve, and he’s doing everything he can.

“He struggles in this moment but we still are working together to find the best version of him and we will not stop pushing.”

Tuchel, whose side visit Wolves today, is also bullish about Cesar Azpilicueta’s future at the club.

The Blues captain (below) is one of four defenders – along with Thiago Silva, Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen – in the last seven months of his contract, although it is expected he will extend his stay at Stamford Bridge.

Tuchel added: “I don’t see any problem here.

“The situation between Azpi and the club is very, very clear – he’s our captain, he has all the possibilities to stay here as long as possible, to be the legend and to become the legend that he already is, maybe.

“He’s a fantastic captain and a fantastic player.

“If there are some weeks where he does not play so much, like in the last weeks, there are some reasons.

“First of all, he was injured with his shoulder.

“Second of all, the team played very, very strongly in his position with Trevoh Chalobah and Andreas, and on the wing-back with Reece James.

“That’s how it is. If there’s any player who knows that it’s like this then it’s Azpi.

“He can be very, very calm. He has everything in his own hands. I see no signs that we should be worried about it.”