Have the Chelsea board failed Thomas Tuchel in January?
Cameron Smith
- 31 Jan 2022 21:15 GMT
- 4 min read
Thomas Tuchel's reign at Chelsea ticked past the 12 month mark during the middle of the January transfer window, and it's fair to say it's been a successful first year in charge for the German.
He secured a top four finish in the Premier League, took the Blues to the FA Cup final, and of course won the Champions League in May 2021.
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What's perhaps more impressive is that he's done all that with Frank Lampard's squad. Apart from the obvious outlier in Romelu Lukaku, Tuchel has made no real signings of note, which goes to show what a great job he's done so far.
Even Lukaku hasn't had the desired impact, so Tuchel has effectively been using the squad he inherited last January. Not only that, but he's been hamstrung by defensive injuries and COVID issues over the past three months, which has seen Chelsea slip from first down to third in the Premier League, and they're now way off the pace being set by Manchester City.
Tuchel was backed in the summer to a fair extent. Breaking the club record signing by adding Lukaku for £97.5 million is no mean feat, but the Chelsea board backed Tuchel to make that signing work. So far, that hasn't been the case, however, and Chelsea are still lacklustre in attack.
One thing that blocked the hole of attacking quality temporarily was the form of Chelsea's wing-backs. Ben Chilwell and Reece James were a complete nuisance during the one-and-a-half month spell they played together in October and November 2021, and their absence due to injury has played a major role in Chelsea's faltering form.
Without the pair marauding down the flanks, Chelsea have often looked bereft of ideas, and they haven't been able to strike the perfect solution between safe possession and rushed forward play; Chelsea look disjointed without Chilwell and James, which is a worrying state of affairs.
What is perhaps even more worrying is the fact that the hierarchy haven't been willing to fully back Tuchel this window and give him what he needs. While James is expected to return by the beginning of the Club World Cup, Chilwell will be out for the season, which leaves Marcos Alonso as the first-choice left-wing-back, and arguably now Malang Sarr as the preferred option as a left-back in a conventional back four.
While Sarr has been impressive recently, those are two weak options, especially when you consider the fact Kenedy and youngster Lewis Hall will be next in the pecking order if Alonso was to pick up an injury.
Full-backs are such an important commodity in the modern game, yet Chelsea have neglected their need, and Tuchel's wish, to add depth in this area.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Luke Shaw cost Manchester United roughly £80m, Joao Cancelo and Kyle Walker were a similar price for Manchester City, while Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson are the fulcrum of Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool side. That shows how valuable full-backs have become, yet Chelsea have ignored the need to improve in that position.
Tuchel has been in a unique position whereby he needs a better option than Alonso right now, but somebody willing to accept a demotion once Chilwell returns to full fitness. He was reportedly not keen on Lucas Digne, hence why a move never happened, while recalling Emerson was high on his priority list. That never came about, and other targets such as Nicholas Tagliafico and Theo Hernandez both fell short.
The decision to simply not add the one position that was vital in January - left-back - could come back to bite Chelsea. It may not be in regards to their league finish, a top four finish without a title charge seems increasingly likely, but it will no doubt have frustrated Tuchel.
Chelsea have experience of a demanding manager who didn't get his transfer targets signed by the club - Antonio Conte - and he didn't last long at all. Now, Tuchel seems far more settled, and less emotional, than the Italian, but a similar incident could occur if Chelsea continue to snub potential signings.
This upcoming summer is vital for Chelsea, but it's not been a good start to 2022 for a side who needed reinforcements, particularly at the back.
A midfielder in the mould of Aurelien Tchouameni or Declan Rice is needed in the summer, but only one position was vital in January, yet the board still neglected this need. Tuchel is good enough to make things work without Chilwell, but it won't be without serious difficulties.
