https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/2021/08/20/
tuchel-reveals-where-chalobah-will-play-this-season
Tuchel reveals where Chalobah will play this season
20 Aug 2021
Thomas Tuchel has confirmed Trevoh Chalobah is set to play an important
role for Chelsea in 2021/22 and discussed the possibility of him moving
into midfield in the future, ahead of our Premier League visit to Arsenal.
https://i.imgur.com/vofQxCM.jpg
Chalobah has drawn widespread praise and created plenty of excitement
among Blues supporters with his performances in our opening two fixtures
of the season, looking assured throughout our UEFA Super Cup victory in
Belfast and Premier League win over Crystal Palace, in addition to finding
the net with a sweet strike in the latter, on his debut in the English top
flight.
Tuchel admitted that he has been as impressed by the 22-year-old as
everyone else, with the defender convincing him during pre-season that he
was ready for a spot in the team for this campaign.
'He did a fantastic pre-season with us and he's a very good player and
even more importantly a top character,' said our head coach. 'He has both
feet on the ground and he took his chance very impressively.
https://i.imgur.com/Indh73n.jpg
Chalobah struggled to control his emotions after scoring on his Premier
League debut
'He played very good matches in pre-season, he performed for 120 minutes
against Villarreal and another strong 90 minutes against Crystal Palace,
so I think it's very logical that he stays with us and is looking for his
chance here. Trevoh was a guy that we absolutely wanted to keep.
'He went out for loans, he had the minutes he needed to develop and now
it's a good moment for him to stay with us and to be part of the group and
take further steps to fulfil his dream, which is to be part of a strong
Chelsea squad, which he is at the moment. We trust him and he deserves
this, it is not a gift.'
Chalobah could also offer a new tactical option for Tuchel, as he featured
regularly in midfield during some of those loans, most notably last season
at French side Lorient in Ligue 1. However, Tuchel feels the Academy
graduate has found his place in our defence for now and wants his focus to
remain on that position, even if it is a possibility he will continue to
consider in the future.
'For us so far he only played in the back three so for right now I would
say these are the three positions where he can achieve the most at
high-level football. But it's only my opinion after six or seven weeks and
there is enough space and enough time to convince me that he is a solution
as the fourth midfielder.
'At one time we will maybe try it. There is some stuff to improve on this
kind of level when the game is so tight, when you need to open spaces so
quickly, it's a big difference to play in midfield in the Premier League
or, with all respect, in a smaller team in France where you can maybe rely
on ball wins and transitions. We have also many phases where we have a lot
of ball possession and need to find creative solutions.
https://i.imgur.com/zbr9Jz2.jpg
'We have this in our minds, we just talked on the pitch about it within
the staff because he was doing a good ball possession exercise in the
middle of the pitch, but I think now is not the time to confuse him and
try too many roles. He's settled in to the back three.
'He learns now what it takes to play in this position, in terms of
football tactics and behaviour, now he needs to learn what it takes to be
a professional for Chelsea. He has big role models at his side, big
experience and top players. Maybe sometimes we will put him in midfield
when all the other processes are done.'
Tuchel also spoke about our upcoming fixture against Arsenal at the
Emirates Stadium on Sunday, with the German expecting a fightback from the
Gunners after they lost their first Premier League game of the season to
newly-promoted Brentford.
'We had a pre-season match with not all the fans in it, but we could see
the atmosphere and the energy that this derby and this stadium can
produce. It's always a tough one, it's always a tight one,' he added.
'They had a bit of a rough start and I think from their perspective it can
be a help that a big rival from within the city arrives now, it can create
the situation where they stick together and try to win the crowd over with
a strong performance.
https://i.imgur.com/a9TfTbv.jpg
Havertz opened the scoring as we won 2-1 at the Emirates in pre-season
'They have qualities, they have a strong coach, they have a strong team,
strong line-up, strong signings. So we should absolutely prepare for the
best Arsenal possible and at the same time do what we need to do, push the
standards to the limit on Sunday.
'Let's see where our limit is and look for an intense game, look for
intensity, look for a rhythm, look for a confident game on and off the
ball. This is what we're looking for and anything else but a tough game
would be a big surprise. So in the end it comes down to us, what do we
demand of us, and there we will be very clear and hopefully we can reach
our top level to be able to produce a top result.'