Thomas Tuchel: Meet the high-maintenance 'mad genius' Chelsea have turned to

[ASFN Admin]

When Paris Saint-Germain sacked Thomas Tuchel on Christmas Eve he intended to take the rest of the season off. That changed when Chelsea came calling. It is easy to say now, with Tuchel’s imminent appointment as Frank Lampard’s successor, that the 47-year-old had a long-held attraction to the Chelsea job but sources close to him last night insisted to Telegraph Sport that was the case. In fact there is an element of regret from Tuchel that he did not take the opportunity to become Chelsea’s head coach sooner. Before he joined PSG in 2018, and before Chelsea chose Maurizio Sarri, Tuchel was strongly under consideration and is understood to have even held talks with key director Marina Granovskaia who runs Chelsea on behalf of Roman Abramovich. The meeting went well and, clearly, Tuchel made a good impression on Granovskaia even if he eventually joined PSG and it was Sarri who got the job at Stamford Bridge. Sources are coy as to why Tuchel was not employed back then but he has jumped at the chance now. The German, who speaks perfect English, has always intended to come to the Premier League one day and – indeed – several years ago was disappointed not to even get an interview when he was suggested to Aston Villa as their new manager. His career moved on and his sights were raised and Chelsea, despite the culture of hiring and firing, appeals to him with its location, its resources, its ambition and also the squad it now possesses.

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