“Difficult situation”- Tuchel responds to the Chelsea future of 27-year-old Spanish ace

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel responds to speculations on the future of Saul Niguez

According to Chelsea’s official site, Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel lauded Saul Niguez for staying involved in the project despite not getting many chances to feature in first-team action in recent weeks.

Since joining the Blues in the summer of 2021, the 27-year-old has only made 24 first-team appearances across all competitions. His one goal and one assist don’t even compensate for the horrible performances he has made in some matches.  

Even though the Blues needed midfield players to step up during the mini-fitness crisis earlier this season, Niguez wasn’t much involved in the games, which raises the question of what went wrong for him at the Bridge. 

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel responds to speculations on the future of Saul Niguez.
Saul Niguez has struggled to make much of an impact at Chelsea.

Every passing day, the Spaniard is closing in on an exit from Chelsea. As things stand, it is improbable that Chelsea will make his deal permanent, indicating an imminent return to Atletico Madrid.

When a question regarding his future was raised in a recent press conference, Thomas Tuchel revealed that it is probably not the best time to talk about a player’s future when the team is highly focused on ending the season on a high.        

“We will talk about it at the end of the season. At the moment, it’s a bit of a difficult situation for him personally, but what I like about him is that he still gives his input.”

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel responds to speculations on the future of Saul Niguez. (Copyright: Andy Rowland)
Saul Niguez on loan from Atletico Madrid of Chelsea & Jacob Ramsey of Aston Villa during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Aston Villa. PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxUK Copyright: xAndyxRowlandx PMI-4414-0008

Even though the German manager didn’t say much about the next step regarding Niguez, he suggested that the player has shown outstanding professionalism in recent times. 

“I don’t have a lot of good news for him when we talk about the line-up, but he needs to stay involved mentally and physically. This is what he does, although it’s not easy for him, and for this, we are very grateful. We also demand it, but it tells us that he’s a real sportsman.”

What should Chelsea do if Saul Niguez departs? 

Chelsea struggled to put up a fight against top teams when the crucial midfielder was sidelined earlier this season. It suggests how much the team is dependent on players like Jorgingo, N’Golo Kanté and Mateo Kovacic.

However, a top team like ours can’t have such a problem in our depth. Midfield reinforcements that the team brought didn’t work out. On top of that, Ross Barkley hasn’t been performing well, which emphasises the requirement even more.  

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel responds to speculations on the future of Saul Niguez.
A return to Atletico on the cards? (Copyright: Jose Breton)

More Chelsea News

The coaching staff has been patient with Saul. But considering the current comments of the manager, it is highly improbable that he would get further chances to impress. If the Spaniard leaves, our board has to make quality signings. Who that will be remains to be seen.