Chelsea surprised when announcing this Wednesday the dismissal of his coach, the German Thomas Tuchel, who had won the 2021 Champions League with the Blues, a day after a humiliating European defeat against Dinamo Zagreb (1-0).
Tuchel had arrived on the London bench in January 2021, and four months later he won the European title with Chelsea.
The club changed hands in May, with the arrival of a consortium of investors led by American businessman Todd Boehly.
“Thomas will retain a deserved place in Chelsea history having won the Champions League, European Super Cup and Club World Cup during his tenure,” the club wrote in a statement.
“But as the new board celebrates 100 days at the helm of the club, and continues to work hard to move the club forward, the new owners feel the time is right to make this change.”
Tuchel (49 years old), who had a contract until 2024, was fired after a discreet start to the season with the Blues, who spent a lot on signings in the preseason, with some 300 million euros invested, bringing in players like Raheem Sterling, Wesley Fofana and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
The defeat in Zagreb perhaps precipitated a decision that was already being considered by the new board. “It was a bad performance by everyone. I thought the last game (a 2-1 win against West Ham) was going to help us,” Tuchel said on Tuesday after losing in the Champions League.
For now, the directors have not announced who will take charge of the team. “The technical staff will take charge of the team’s training and preparation for our upcoming matches, while the club hopes to quickly appoint a new manager,” Chelsea said, without specifying when.
Graham Potter, the first name that sounds
The name that seems to bite in point to arrive at Chelsea in replacement of Tuchel is that of Graham Potter, current manager of Brighton. According to the journalist Fabrizio Romano, there would already be contacts from club to club.
“Chelsea is preparing the contract proposal for Graham Potter, but the main priority will be to discuss a long-term project,” Romano wrote.
Chelsea are preparing the contract proposal for Graham Potter but main priority will be discussing on long-term project. He’s the favorite — while Pochettino is now waiting for Chelsea to decide. 🚨🔵 #CFCs
Brighton will discuss with Chelsea on compensation/clause right after. pic.twitter.com/d3M8jlBJVo
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 7, 2022
The other candidates to arrive
The Italian communicator slipped another name: that of the Argentine Mauricio Pochettino, IOpen after leaving PSG in the middle of the year and a Champions League finalist with Tottenham in 2019. And he mentions, in other trills, that there are four possible names. The other two have not been revealed so far.
SPORTS
with AFP
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