Thomas Tuchel
Posted in2022-2023-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Chelsea’s Tuchel reserves special praise for Hasenhuttl and admits N’Golo Kante’s injury record #CHELSEAFC #SaintsFC

August 30, 2022
CHELSEA manager Thomas Tuchel insisted “I have a lot of respect” for Ralph Hasenhuttl, stating Saints teams have “his fingerprints are all over” them. The German boss faced Hasenhuttl three times alone last season with an EFL Cup tie in October, the Blues eventually running out winners in all three meetings. As did Hasenhuttl, Tuchel arrived in the Premier League from the Bundesliga – where he was the boss of giants Borussia Dortmund. Speaking ahead of Chelsea’s visit to St Mary’s, Champions League-winner Tuchel reserved some kind words for his Saints counterpart. "I have a lot of respect for Ralph, and we have played against each other a lot of times,” Tuchel said. “He is a very nice person and a very good coach, and his fingerprints are all over this Southampton team every year. "He will be very friendly before the match, but during the match, he will not be friendly with us. “Don't make the mistake, he is a competitor as we are. We will fight it out but always with fair play. It will be better to be on the sideline than in the stands." Tuchel had been serving a touchline ban after he was sent off during the recent ‘Battle of the Bridge’ – the fiery meeting with Tottenham Hotspur. In the meantime, he has been taking in the performances of Saints as part of his preparations. "I had the chance to watch the game of Southampton (against Manchester United) live and saw a very strong side,” Tuchel added. “They had a huge turnaround at Leicester to win the game, and you could see they gained a lot of confidence from it. “They conceded, but they had a lot of touches in the box, a lot of shots against Manchester United and were very mobile upfront. "What you can always expect in Southampton is a physical game, a running game, a high-intensity game. This is what it is. We need to recover well and be well prepared to repeat what we did last season." A message from the Editor Thank you for reading this article - we appreciate your support in reading the Daily Echo. Subscribing to the Echo means you have unrestricted access to the latest news, features and Saints coverage - all with an advertising-light website. You will also have full access to Saintsplus, your new home for Southampton FC tactical analysis, features and much, much more. Don't just take my word for it - subscribe today. Follow the latest breaking news in the Southampton area by searching Southampton News - Breaking News and Incidents on Facebook Follow the latest court and crime news on our dedicated group by searching Hampshire Court and Crime News on Facebook
Thomas Tuchel
Posted in2021-2022-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Thomas Tuchel confirms Broja will return to Chelsea for pre-season #CHELSEAFC

May 19, 2022
CHELSEA manager Thomas Tuchel confirms Armando Broja will return to Blues so he can assess him in pre-season. The 20-year-old forward is set to head back to Stamford Bridge following the conclusion of his season-long loan at Saints next week. Broja could play his final game for the St Mary’s outfit this Sunday, when Saints travel to Leicester City for matchday 38 of the Premier League campaign. It was a successful start to Premier League life for Chelsea product Broja, scoring five goals by January of his first season while on loan at Saints. He has only scored one since but Ralph Hasenhuttl is still keen to keep the Albanian international at the club beyond his current loan deal. Tuchel, who led Chelsea to a Champions League win last year, confirmed that he wants to look at Broja and fellow loanee Conor Gallagher in pre-season. "They will come back for sure,” the German boss insisted, speaking ahead of their clash with Leicester tomorrow. “I want to have them in pre-season and we will decide in pre-season what goes on. It is heavily up to them and how they do." Broja, who spent last season on loan at Dutch Eredivisie side Vitesse Arnhem, marked his Saints debut with two goals in the EFL Cup at Newport County. He netted his first Premier League goal on his first league start, at home to Leeds United in October. His last notch in the league came during the comeback 3-2 win at Tottenham Hotspur in February. Towards the end of last month, Hasenhuttl said: “Let’s have a look what we do next season. "It is interesting that you know everything about Armando Broja. We will have definitely a good young group next season, however it looks. “At this moment it is not easy to negotiate with Chelsea. There is no question, and it is not surprising that I want him to stay here another year. I know this would be good for him.” The Daily Echo understands that Chelsea are now open for business and options can be discussed with the club and player.  A message from the Editor Thank you for reading this article - we appreciate your support in reading the Daily Echo. Subscribing to the Echo means you have unrestricted access to the latest news, features and Saints coverage - all with an advertising-light website. You will also have full access to Saintsplus, your new home for Southampton FC tactical analysis, features and much, much more. Don't take my word for it - subscribe here to see for yourself. Follow the latest breaking news in the Southampton area by joining our Facebook group - Southampton News - Breaking News and Incidents Follow the latest court and crime news on our dedicated Facebook group - Hampshire Court and Crime News