A CLASSY TUCH
Thomas pays tribute as he takes Lampard’s job
THOMAS TUCHEL paid tribute to Frank Lampard on the day the German manager was welcomed into the Chelsea “family”.
Tuchel was handed an 18-month contract by the Blues with the option of an extension. He immediately got down to work, taking a 6pm training session as soon as the ink was dry on his contract. That paperwork has been significant following Brexit and with Covid restrictions, and Tuchel will quarantine for the next 14 days in between joining the rest of the Chelsea squad in their secure bubble at training and for matches.
Chelsea felt the need to move quickly after Tuchel lost his job at
TENSION mounts – and there is no better verb for it – within Chelsea’s young academy graduates as Thomas Tuchel gets his Stamford Bridge career under way against Wolves this evening.
Because even Frank Lampard’s golden boy Mason Mount has to be worried at the arrival of a replacement charged with getting instant results.
Under that sort of pressure, a new boss will often lean on familiarity – stick with those he knows, or at least the ones that speak the same language.
Tammy Abraham scored a hat-trick in his most recent outing, but Tuchel has been brought in specifically to get more change out of expensive summer purchases including Timo Werner, Abraham’s direct rival.
Hakim Ziyech is tipped to thrive under the former Paris Saint-Germain boss and Christian Pulisic has previous, having been developed as a youngster by Tuchel at Dortmund.
Space is already getting tight and there is still Kai Havertz to fit into the attacking midfield options
– areas where Callum Hudson-Odoi and Billy Gilmour might suddenly struggle for game time.
Jorginho is another player who Tuchel is known to admire and could consider using as the heartbeat of his new-look team.
The battle for the shirt between
Mount and
N’Golo Kante could be unedifying, and while in the long term Tuchel could cash in on the France international in the summer, Mount’s regular selection would be in jeopardy in the meantime.
Having followed Lampard from Derby to Chelsea, he no longer has his mentor to look after him.
Impressive form away from Lampard with England works to