Thomas Tuchel
Thomas Tuchel insists he was involved in Chelsea’s decision not to make any signings in January and says Blues director Marina Granovskaia is never more than a phone call away if there is an issue to raise or discuss.
Thomas Tuchel said: “Of course, we looked into the market. Of course, we were informed about what was possible. And of course, people offered us players. But it is not just about doing it [signing players] to calm down the noise around it [the transfer window]. It has to make sense and to make sense you need a big package: quality, personality, you need the position. And in the end, we decided not to do it because we have genuine trust in the players because players like Malang Sarr stepped up when they played. So considering the opportunities, it left us with the decision not to do anything – and that was a decision we took together.”
Tuchel has enjoyed a good working relationship with Granovskaia – who oversees the day-to-day running of the club – since taking charge a little over a year ago.
Thomas Tuchel said: “When I say and describe the situation that we lack key players or that we lack points [in the Premier League] because of this, I’m just describing the situation. There are no messages to the board or to Marina. If I want to get a message to the board or to Marina I can go to my phone and call her. It just describes a situation and I give you my opinion why maybe things, like our results or the style of play, are not working as we want them to work out. For me, the reasons are injuries, Covid for us, and the situation that we had the toughest schedule that you can have given the times between the matches. That was pretty much it.”
