Chelsea are set to see Saul Niguez return to Atletico Madrid this summer.
Speaking to Sky Sports (h/t Express) after the win against Aston Villa, Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel revealed that Saul Niguez was substituted at half-time because he was struggling to adapt to the Premier League.
The Blues went into the break with a 1-0 win thanks to a brilliant Romelu Lukaku goal on his Stamford Bridge return. But the Spaniard, signed by the Blues on loan from Atletico Madrid, had a nightmare debut.
The Spaniard was constantly looking off the pace and his sloppiness led to a few chances for the visitors. Luckily for him, Chelsea’s defensive line, including Edouard Mendy, was there to save his blushes.
Nevertheless, the German manager decided to hook Saul before the start of the second half and brought on Jorginho to partner Mateo Kovacic in midfield. He then explained that the decision was taken because Saul wasn’t looking up to the mark.
“We could see Saul struggle to adapt to the intensity, instructions, style of play and intensity of the Premier League. It was hard to do, I had a feeling he struggled. He made some mistakes, passing mistakes and errors and struggled with the intensity.”
As you would expect from the former PSG and Borussia Dortmund manager, he was on hand to shoulder his share of the blame to play the 26-year-old midfielder prematurely and stated that it was a ‘very hard‘ decision to substitute him.
“You could see he was fully adapted. It’s completely my responsibility.”
Saul has played enough games at the top level for Atletico and the Spain national team to not let this moment affect him too much- at least that’s what the Chelsea fans would be hoping. The Blues now gear themselves up to defend their European crown as they take on Zenit this week.
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