Chelsea transfer news: The Blues will welcome in a player admired by Thomas Tuchel in an ironic turn of events.
Thomas Tuchel’s last Chelsea transfer backfired. (Image: Christina Pahnke – sampics/Corbis via Getty Images)
Thomas Tuchel has had a healthy dose of irony at Bayern Munich as his first three months in charge of the Bavarian giants teeters on the edge of total failure. Having been sacked by Chelsea in September he turned down ambitious approaches from several mid-table Premier League teams (not Chelsea) and joined the reigning German champions in April.
It came following the departure of highly-rated Julian Nagelsmann, who was dismissed with the 2020 Champions League winners second in the Bundesliga, in the domestic cup and still competing in Europe. Since then much has changed throughout the footballing world.
Antonio Conte was sacked in the same period with Tottenham initially linked with swooping in for Nagelsmann quickly. He has since been replaced not once but twice in interim charge in north London with neither being Nagelsmann. The 35-year-old has turned down the chance to become the next head coach there.
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He was then also put on the shortlist to replace Graham Potter at Chelsea just one week later after Todd Boehly pulled the plug on his second permanent manager in the space of eight months. Nagelsmann was considered a part of the extensive shortlist by Chelsea’s recruitment directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart but talks broke down.
Nagelsmann is yet to get a new job, Mauricio Pochettino has agreed a deal to move to Stamford Bridge, Tottenham don’t have a boss lined up yet and Tuchel is one the verge of overseeing Bayern’s worst year in over a decade. After a 3-1 loss to RB Leipzig, ironically the former side of Nagelsmann in yet another twist, Bayern now face being usurped at the top of the league with one game left.
Had they won then Tuchel would have been close to a second domestic title in three years after leading Paris Saint-Germain to Ligue 1 success. The defeat at home from 1-0 up has opened the door to Borussia Dortmund. They face Augsburg and Mainz knowing that two wins will be enough to end the decade-long stranglehold Bayern have had in Germany.
In another ironic twist, it was soon-to-be Chelsea forward Christopher Nkunku that completed the 10-minute turnaround. His penalty put Leipzig 2-1 up with 15 minutes to play before Dominik Szoboszlai converted a spot-kick of his own to seal the win.
Nkunku, who was pursued by Chelsea last summer with Tuchel in charge, signed a new contract with Leipzig but then shocked European football by agreeing a deal to join the Blues at the end of this season. Although nothing has been officially announced by either club, it is widely known that the 25-year-old will be joining Pochettino’s squad on July 1.
As one of the best-performing attackers across the continent for the past three years it is a big coup for Chelsea, who had the player complete a medical in secret just weeks after Tuchel was sacked at Chelsea. Initial discussions, which went back far into the summer, were all with Tuchel in mind.
Since then Potter has had the pleasure of planning for Nkunku’s arrival before he was moved on. Now Pochettino can be certain that a new cog to the attack will be under his watch next season, too. Meanwhile, Tuchel will be regretting not getting it done earlier.
How different things might have been across the board.
Source: football.london
