https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/2022/04/01/
tuchel-press-conference-and-team-news-ahead-of-brentford
Tuchel updates on summer plans for quartet
01 Apr 2022
Thomas Tuchel has acknowledged that Chelsea cannot start making plans for
next season amid the ongoing uncertainty around the club's ownership,
though he has provided the latest update on the future of four players…
https://i.imgur.com/9RxX3Qa.jpg
The Blues boss admitted that inability to think too far ahead could be
beneficial to him and his players in the coming weeks as we begin a run of
seven matches in three competitions across 23 days with a Premier League
derby against Brentford tomorrow.
Speaking at his customary pre-match media conference from the press room
at Cobham, Tuchel discussed the futures of captain Cesar Azpilicueta,
Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen, as well as reiterating his belief
that Romelu Lukaku has a significant role to play in his attack.
However, the Chelsea head coach started by reflecting on the difficulty of
forward planning in light of club sanctions and the imminent change of
ownership.
'It's hard to guess how much of a disadvantage it is so that's why we
don't do it,' he said. 'We focus on what we have right now and our next
matches so maybe it's also an advantage that we cannot get distracted and
we deal with the disadvantage later when hopefully things are clear.'
An appearance-related clause triggering an extension to Azpilicueta's
contract has been in the news and was a subject Tuchel discussed.
'I knew it was going to happen because I knew the amount of games when
it's going to happen and it was so close,' he revealed.
'It's a good thing. We were aware of it and it's good news for us. We have
a contract and he's our captain so there's a very high probability that he
will stay.
https://i.imgur.com/PdHkBNv.jpg
Azpi back in training at Cobham this week after the international break
'I knew all the time that this was very likely to happen because he's a
regular starter for us and I knew the amount of games we needed to make
him stay and to extend his contract, so that's why I'm very happy.
'You know how much I rely on him and how much of an impact he has in this
group and in this club so it's very good news for us.'
The recent international break left a void of domestic action which was
predictably filled with plenty of transfer speculation. Rudiger's future
remains the subject of much rumour and Tuchel was asked whether he is
concerned at reports of his compatriot's agent meeting representatives
from Barcelona.
'If it's true, yeah of course,' he answered. 'I would try to meet him if
I was any other club but still he's our player and I still think we have
a good chance that he stays our player once things are solved for us.
'The situation is the situation at the moment and our hands are tied. We
cannot speak to him, we cannot offer him, we cannot negotiate with him and
his agent, so fair enough if it's true he listens to other offers. That's
the way things go but I'm still confident.'
Meanwhile, at the other end of the pitch, Lukaku has started our past
three Premier League games as a substitute and Tuchel conceded that his
number nine clearly wants to be playing more. However, he insisted the
Belgian still had a big role to play in the final two months of the
campaign as Chelsea continue the fight in two cup competitions as well as
the league.
'The situation at the moment is that we cannot talk to players,' Tuchel
said of speculation about his striker's summer plans. 'We cannot sell and
cannot buy so we don't even need to think about it because these are the
players that we have.
https://i.imgur.com/0yS5IF5.jpg
Lukaku opened the scoring in our recent FA Cup win at Middlesbrough
'Romelu still plays a big part in our plans, not the part maybe that he
wants to play and I totally understand that but he used his time off to
disconnect a little bit. He had one week of holiday and then was back with
us. I feel him very motivated and strong in training. He is a winner, he
will stay a winner and he will stay important for us.
'He had a good match in Middlesbrough [last time out in the FA Cup] which
was a huge boost for all of us and for him personally. There is no space
now for bad mood or disappointment. There are a lot of matches coming in
the decisive weeks of the season and that's why there's no space for
second thoughts or for being distracted. We have to focus and we need
every single player.'
Finally, Tuchel was asked about reports linking Christensen with a summer
switch to Barcelona.
'We heard the same rumours but I have no confirmation as I did not speak
to Andreas about it at the moment,' replied the boss.