Thomas Tuchel seemed to be the anointed replacement for the embattled coach of Chelsea football club, Frank Lampard. The German tactician is one of the available world-class coaches as he has been jobless since he was sacked by Paris Saint Germain in December 2020.
Thomas Tuchel’s sack was a surprise for most football followers because he was sacked when he was still doing well with PSG which he led to the 2019-2020 UEFA Champions League final and won the French Ligue 1 title.
Before PSG allowed him to go this season, he has led the club to the second spot on the league table with a point behind the then league leaders Lyon. Yet, he had to be sacked due to a suspected misunderstanding between him and the club’s board.
Recently, the coach’s representatives reportedly said Thomas Tuchel was ready to take on Chelsea’s coaching job if Frank Lampard who has led Chelsea to 5 defeats in the club’s last 8 Premier League games is sacked.
Hence, with the continuous poor form of the club despite spending over £200 million to recruit superstars across Europe last season, the club’s board is reportedly thinking of letting Lampard go. But the board intends to appoint a German-speaking coach if Lampard is sacked.
Chelsea’s desire to get a German-speaking coach became necessary to help the two new German stars at the club, Timo Werner, and Kai Havertz, who have found it almost impossible to settle down at the club since they made a big-money move from German Bundesliga to the Premier League last summer.
Recall that Chelsea bought Havertz for over £70 million from Bayer Leverkusen and Timo Werner for £50 million from RB Leipzig last summer. They were both among the hottest youngsters in Europe before they left Germany for England but they are now a shadow of themselves under Frank Lampard.
With this at the back of the mind of the club’s board and with the fact that Chelsea are sitting on the 8th spot with 29 points in 19 league games, 11 points away from first-placed Manchester United, the board may sack the English tactician soonest if the club’s poor form continues.
After Chelsea’s 2-0 defeat in the hands of Leicester City on Tuesday, January 19, reports have been claiming that Chelsea’s board has started discussing with the representative of Thomas Tuchel.
TRUE ✅ This option is being discussed at @ChelseaFC if Lampard is dismissed: Avram Grant could take over now, and Thomas Tuchel will be Manager in summer @BILD_Sport @altobelli13 pic.twitter.com/f5z28svDzp
— Christian Falk (@cfbayern) January 15, 2021
If the former PSG coach gets the job, he would have the opportunity of working with his former captain at PSG Thiago Silva, who joined Chelsea on a free transfer from PSG last summer. He would also reunite with Christian Pulisic who he coached at Borussia Dortmund between 2015 and 2017.
Besides Tuchel, Chelsea’s Board has reportedly shortlisted German coach Julien Nagelsmann who is currently coaching RB Leipzig and credited for the development of Timo Werner as Lampard’s possible replacement. Former Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri is also among Lampard’s possible successors.
However, the owner of Chelsea Roman Abramovich might find it difficult to sack Lampard not just because the coach is the club’s legend and all-time highest goalscorer, but because of the amount of payout, it might have to make if he decides to allow the English tactician leaves.
Recall that the Russian businessman has spent over £110 million on the sacking of coaches at Chelsea between 2003 to date and it might not cost cheap to allow Lampard to go with one and a half-season left on his contract with the club.
