Here are your Chelsea headlines for Tuesday, April 20.
Tuchel's verdict on European Super League
Thomas Tuchel has spoken about the proposed Super League plans after it was confirmed that Chelsea would be among the founding members.
When asked if he was consulted about the plans, he said in a press conference on Monday: “I’m not surprised. I would be surprised if they interfered with my line-ups or training. I’m not surprised they don’t include a coach in sports politics and future decisions. This is clearly the board’s job to do.
"I completely understand you are emotional about this and you want to have more of a response from Chelsea. I can absolutely understand every single argument in your introduction. But it must be clear to you that I am not the guy to clear these questions, I am not the guy.
"I am the coach. I’m not part of the board, I was not involved in these decisions and in all the thoughts and work that was put in or not put in. I don’t know the details of this and that’s why.
"I can understand why need more answers, want more answers to get the bigger picture. But I think I’m clearly not the guy because I am here to coach the team, to make good decisions today on the training pitch, and tomorrow against Brighton.
"I can understand why this does not satisfy you.”
UEFA threat
UEFA chief Aleksander Ceferin has threatened to throw Arsenal and Chelsea out of European competitions this season for endorsing the controversial new Super League proposals.
The revelation comes amid the announcement of a new Super League of which Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham have signed up to be three of the 12 founding members.
The new competition, as it is proposed, would run alongside domestic leagues and would guarantee the qualification of 15 teams every year.
Almost the entirety of European football has slammed the proposals and the clubs involved, while governing bodies FIFA and UEFA have threatened action against the runaway clubs.
UEFA's Ceferin has said that any player who competes in the new Super League will not be allowed to play at European Championships or World Cups.
And the chief of European football has also said that UEFA will now consider throwing Arsenal, Chelsea and anyone else involved out of competitions 'as soon as possible'.
"We're still assessing with our legal team but we will take all the sanctions that we can and we will inform you as soon we can," Ceferin said after a UEFA conference this morning.
"My opinion is that as soon as possible they have to be banned from all our competitions and the players from all our competitions."
Tuchel talks Abraham
On another subject, Tuchel spoke about the future of Tammy Abraham and whether the striker should be worried amid reduced game time.
"I think everyone is concerned when they are not in the squad. It's never an easy decision for me to take it," he said. "We sometimes spend an hour after the last training session about which decisions to take, which players we have to leave at home. It's thin margins that decide.
"Tammy has had these decisions a few times now against him, which are never personal. This is life sometimes for a player at Chelsea. I hope he doesn't get lost in too many thoughts. He knows from me that he doesn't have to be too concerned or have too many thoughts about his situation.
"Everything he can do is stay focused, have belief, and for a striker, a situation can change in minutes. I hope he isn't concerned about his future.
"I hope the only thing he cares about is his training. We have talked about it, that is the only way to chance to escape his situation.
"It's my responsibility to take these choices. Sometimes they are hard choices and sometimes they aren't even fair because we have to mind a mix for 18 players to have all solutions for substitutions in ten positions in the game. So he has to keep his head up and trust himself."
