Thomas Tuchel has broken his promise to play Saul Niguez in central midfield
According to Mundo Deportivo via Sport Witness (h/t Mirror), Thomas Tuchel has violated his promise to Saul Niguez and has decided to play the Spaniard out of position at Chelsea.
Saul Niguez has experienced a massive drop in his performance at Chelsea. The 27-year-old has only started four games across all competition for the Blues this season and has failed to make any noticeable impact on the results. And that has led to him being on the fringes of the starting XI.
Amidst such a situation, the former Dortmund manager has decided to play him in the wing-back position to cover up for the loss of Ben Chilwell. This can mean that either Saul has played too poorly in midfield that he has to be tried out in a new role, or that he is versatile enough to carry out a task such as this which no other player could have done with such distinction.
However, it is believed that the manager’s decision is the “worst possible news” for the Spain international’s career. The assurances were apparently quite different from the former PSG manager when convincing him to join the West London team.
It is believed that the 48-year-old manager promised that the Spaniard will have the freedom to play in his favourite position.
Tuchel’s decision could be seen as a tactical call as he is facing difficulties with his first choice full-back Ben Chilwell. The German manager has revealed that the coaching hierarchy has been experimenting with the Spaniard by putting him in the left full-back position in training sessions. It is clear that he impressed Tuchel enough to take up that role on the left flank.
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This decision is not surprising as we have already seen some top managers experimenting and changing players’ positions and eventually making them better. David Alaba and Joshua Kimmich are just two examples of this.
And hence, it is too early to judge Thomas Tuchel‘s actions, and it could be possible that he ends up helping Saul rejuvenate his Blues career. If he impresses enough, his versatility and industry could be rewarded next summer if Tuchel decides to sign him permanently.