Player News: Saul Niguez frustrated with lack of game time at Chelsea under Thomas Tuchel
According to The Sun (h/t Daily Mail), Chelsea midfielder Saul Niguez is growing increasingly frustrated with his lack of game time with the Blues.
The Spanish international joined the west Londoners on the final day of the summer transfer window from La Liga champions Atletico Madrid on a season-long deal with an option to make the move permanent.
But things haven’t gone according to the plan for the midfielder as he has spent the majority of his time at Chelsea being on a substitute bench or not being part of the squad.
Due to a lack of game time with the Londonders, the 26-year-old has been overlooked by the Spanish international coach Luis Enrique for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers in November.
Talking to a Spanish outlet (h/t Daily Mail), a source close to the player said:
“This is not quite what Saul was expecting. He is not stupid and doesn’t think he should play in every game, he knows it might take time to get used to English football.”
“But when he hardly plays in the Premier League, how can he adapt? He has come from a big club and has played in big games before. He wants to show he can handle it.”
His Chelsea career got off to a horror start when he was hooked at halftime against Aston Villa and was replaced by Jorginho. He was completely off the pace and was not able to adjust to Premier League tempo throughout the first half.
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Since then, the Spanish international has featured just five times under Thomas Tuchel. If not for the Carabao Cup, then the Spaniard’s playing time would have been even less and it is clear he hasn’t been up to the mark which was expected out of him.