As soon as Thomas Tuchel left Paris Saint-Germain in December 2020, Chelsea fans were waiting for the rumors.
Current boss Frank Lampard is going through a rough patch, while Tuchel is known to have puzzled club officials in the past. There were plans to replace Antonio Conte in 2018, but Chelsea eventually opted for Maurizio Sarri.
The rumors are back now. Christian Falk recently revealed that Chelsea have had “non-binding” contacts with the former PSG boss, who are reportedly keen on a move to Stamford Bridge in the near future.
If everything you know about Tuchel is done through his Wikipedia page, you will probably be excited about it. He is a man who won the German Cup with Borussia Dortmund and continued to dominate France, winning two Ligue 1 titles and even leading PSG to the Champions League final. It’s impressive.
However, Chelsea cannot afford to be lured by Tuchel’s resume. It’s a decision the Blues should avoid at all costs.
One problem with Tuchel is that, despite all his recent silverware, he really only managed the bare minimum. It is assumed that PSG will win Ligue 1, but the challenge they did not take up was to guide PSG to European glory.
Granted, losing to Bayern Munich 2019/20 isn’t exactly the biggest failure, but it was a sign of a worrying trend in Tuchel’s career – an inability to win big games.
Last season he tried to be tactically smart and saw his side lose 2-1 to Dortmund in their last 16 first leg. He needed a masterclass of his big names to wipe the egg off his face on his return.
If you go back to 2018/19 you’ll find losses to Liverpool and Manchester United (the exact opponents Chelsea are trying to beat domestically), while 2017/18 brought losses to Bayern and Real Madrid.
It’s not the kind of games you should expect every time. After all, these are four of the biggest clubs on the planet. However, what these losses show is that Tuchel is probably not the man who will take Chelsea to the next level. The goal is for Chelsea to be able to compete (and beat) these teams.
If Chelsea have lost faith in Lampard (most reports suggest they haven’t yet), they can’t afford to replace him with someone who isn’t a guaranteed winner. There’s no point in wresting that long-term transition for another gun that might not even be worth it.
Thankfully, it looks like Chelsea aren’t as supportive of Tuchel as it sounds. A recent Telegraph report found Chelsea were concerned about the boss’s personality and management style when they first reviewed him in 2017, fearing he might not be a good fit for the club.
Tuchel’s track record of clashing with top players and club officials has worried Chelsea, and with his thorny reputation only growing in recent years, it’s hard to see Chelsea think the time is right for pull the trigger.
Tuchel has clashed with PSG manager Leonardo on a regular basis over transfers, but this is not the first time he has come into conflict with management. Former PSG Antero Henrique was not his best friend, while previous spells with Mainz and Dortmund both ended in fights with the board. That’s not the vibe Chelsea need right now.
Admittedly, that kind of common sense wasn’t there when Chelsea dismissed Tuchel to stay with Conte and then hire Sarri, two abrasive managers who personify everything the Blues claimed to hate, but things are moving in the right direction.
Lampard has helped calm things down, but if he can’t bring the results, his head will soon be rolling. If that happens so be it, but Chelsea need to have a better plan than Tuchel if they are to give their greatest midfielder the boot.
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