Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has admitted that he and the club will have to make ‘decisions’ on several players who have been linked with a summer move away from the club.
The German saw his side beat Bournemouth 2-1 on Tuesday night, but with several players now returning from a deserved rest following Euro 2020, the Chelsea squad is too large meaning some will have to go out on loan or be sold.
However, he is still determined to give players a chance to stake their claim in pre-season.
Speaking to Chelsea TV after the game, Tuchel said: “I have to analyse it – and we need these games to analyse it and to judge our players and make decisions about what are the best next steps for them.
“There is now a training group of 28 or 29, which is a huge group and there are players coming back.
“So in the near future, yes we have to make some decisions – and it’s good to learn during matches because we need to judge them on a fair basis and some impressions from games and this is better than training.”
Chelsea’s notorious loan army has been a very sophisticated operation over the last decade, and with many youngsters – like Armando Broja and Ike Ugba who both got on the scoresheet on Tuesday - already showing Tuchel that they can be part of the club’s long-term future, it’s expected to grow even bigger in the coming days.
And there are several out of favour senior players who Tuchel will also be looking to move on.
The likes of Danny Drinkwater and Ross Barkley have had difficult spells in Chelsea blue, whilst others, including Tammy Abraham, could be sold to fund future moves, especially as they’re determined in their pursuit of Borussia Dortmund striker, Erling Haaland.
Thus, although there’s been minimal movement so far, it’s shaping up to be a busy to the transfer window in west London, as Tuchel prepares to build a squad capable of winning the Premier League.
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