Chelsea have “parted company” with Thomas Tuchel after their poor start to the 2022-23 Premier League season.
As poorly as Chelsea has started the current campaign, this is still a huge shock. Brighton boss Graham Potter will reportedly meet with Chelsea boss Todd Boehly about the opening.
Following their shock 1-0 defeat to Dinamo Zagreb in the UEFA Champions League, a statement was released on Chelsea’s website saying that Tuchel was no longer in charge.
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Tuchel joined Chelsea in January 2021 and won the UEFA Champions League a few months later. Last season they finished third in the Premier League and lost in the finals of the FA Cup and League Cup on penalty kicks to Liverpool, while they also lost in the quarterfinals of the Champions League to eventual winners Real Madrid.
Despite spending the most money in the summer transfer window of any club in the world to rebuild their squad, they’ve lost three-straight away games in all competitions as Chelsea’s new American owners have acted swiftly to fire Tuchel.
Below is the statement in full.
Chelsea fire Thomas Tuchel (club statement)
Chelsea Football Club has today parted company with Head Coach Thomas Tuchel.
On behalf of everyone at Chelsea FC, the Club would like to place on record its gratitude to Thomas and his staff for all their efforts during their time with the Club. Thomas will rightly have a place in Chelsea’s history after winning the Champions League, the Super Cup and Club World Cup in his time here.
As the new ownership group reaches 100 days since taking over the Club, and as it continues its hard work to take the club forward, the new owners believe it is the right time to make this transition.
Chelsea’s coaching staff will take charge of the team for training and the preparation of our upcoming matches as the Club moves swiftly to appoint a new head coach.
There will be no further comment until a new head coach appointment is made.
Why? And who next?
The obvious choice is Mauricio Pochettino and Brighton’s Graham Potter has also been touted as a favorite.
It is clear that someone is lined up by chairman Todd Boehly and Chelsea’s ownership group, and reports say that Potter is going to meet with Chelsea on Wednesday.
The Blues are said to be prepared to pay Potter’s rumored $20 million release clause. The Seagulls have given Chelsea permission to speak with Potter, and it’s said those conversations will start Wednesday.
Perhaps Tuchel knew what was coming as soon as the new owners arrived and there’s no doubt he will get another big job somewhere else soon. Overall he’s done a fine job at Chelsea.
As bad as results and performances have been, this does seem harsh on Tuchel. He lost key players this summer due to the restrictions on the club last season due to Roman Abramovich’s ownership and key members of the technical staff also moved on.
On the pitch Chelsea have looked weak defensively and devoid of ideas in attack and that is what has cost Tuchel his job.
It turns out Chelsea’s new owners are just as ruthless as the previous one when it comes to sacking managers for poor runs of results.
