Tuchel admits major transfer rethink after emergence of Chelsea man ‘living his dream’
Thomas Tuchel says that Trevoh Chalobah’s emergence at Chelsea could see them switch their transfer plans away from defensive target Jules Kounde.
Tuchel was desperate to add a new centre-back to his squad in the summer and the Blues pushed hard to sign Sevilla’s Kounde. A fee though could not be agreed with the LaLiga side. Marina Granovskaia submitted a significant bid, but it eas less than Kounde’s €80m release clause, which Sevilla were insisting on.
That left Tuchel looking at options from within Stamford Bridge. But the plan for Chalobah, 22, was for the defender to spend a season on loan.
However, his early-season performances convinced Tuchel to keep him at the club. And he penned a new contract through 2026 earlier this week.
It’s a deal which has delighted Tuchel.
The Blues boss said: “He can achieve what he wants. It was his childhood dream to play with Chelsea and he is on his best way to having a big impact.
“We are happy he committed and signed his contract. He is living his dream and I am impressed with his maturity. He is so focused, he doesn’t get carried away.”
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Meanwhile, the German coach has admitted Chalobah’s form may well have changed his transfer plans.
“I think every transfer period you need to evaluate again because you cannot say what we wanted in the summer we do in the winter or the next summer. It is not like this,” Tuchel said.
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Chalobah ‘stepped up’
“Your opinion changes, players change, you have evolvement in the group. You have atmosphere that you build, you see who is absolutely reliable and these connections build up and create something special, hopefully, in the group.
“So you cannot say what we tried in the summer did not happen so we will try again for sure in the winter. Sometimes it is like this if we see the same need, but clearly Trevoh is now here with us and he deserves to be here with us. It had nothing to do with if we can sign another central defender or not.
“But he stepped up. The responsibility was even more on his shoulders and he can handle it so far in a very impressive way. This is the situation and it has an effect on our next decisions in the next transfer period. It is always like this.”
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