Tuchel reveals why he put block on loan deals for Chelsea pair

Dave Tindall
Thomas Tuchel press pic via YouTube

New Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has revealed why rising stars Billy Gilmour and Faustino Anjorin weren’t allowed to leave the club on loan during the January transfer window.

The Scot and the Englishman were both linked with moves away. And several other fringe players were also part of the Deadline Day rumours.

But despite his recent arrival at Stamford Bridge, Tuchel said he’d already made up his mind to work with the current squad.

That meant not bringing any new players in but also keeping the ones he had. It included the main subjects of speculation, Gilmour and Anjorin.

Tuchel spoke directly about the pair during the off-air media section of his pre-match press conference for Thursday’s clash with Spurs.

As reported by Sports Illustrated (via Chelsea news), the German said: “It was maybe the most comfortable transfer period in my life as a professional coach.

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“I was in only a few days [before the window closed]. I was happy with every guy that was out there on the pitch, and there were no big injuries.

“So there was no need for one minute to think about bringing players in.”

Tuchel praises Gilmour and Anjorin

As for not allowing players to leave, he added: “In the opposite sense, we decided to keep Tino Anjorin and Billy Gilmour with the group. Because I like a lot of what I see from the two guys.

“Billy is very, very close [to the side] in terms of quality, work ethic and personality. He is very, very close.

“So we decided very very quickly, it was not even a decision. It was simply clear that we go with this group going forward.”

Chelsea go into Thursday night’s derby with Tottenham in eighth place. A victory would see them leapfrog Spurs and move into the top six.

Tuchel has a draw and a win so far from his two games in charge. Chelsea were held 0-0 by Wolves in his first game. But they responded with a 2-0 victory over Burnley last time.

This will be the former PSG coach’s first away match since his arrival.