https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/2022/01/07/ tuchel--on-the-lookout-for-right-side-reinforcement Tuchel: On the lookout for right-side reinforcement 07 Jan 2022 Reece James' current absence through injury, even if it is not very long-term, is one of the reasons Chelsea are surveying the January transfer market Thomas Tuchel has revealed. https://i.imgur.com/klqHPG3.jpg Our head coach during his Friday media conference explained the club is looking into the market for possible moves that make sense, but without feeling high pressure to do so. Unlike Ben Chilwell on the other flank who is out for the season, James is expected to return from a hamstring tear before too long, but even then the crowded fixture programme is focusing minds, as Tuchel explains as he revisits the topic of the transfer window. 'If you are out for some weeks, and you don't know how fast the process is for coming back, you can lose a lot of matches,' he says. 'If you have this in the wrong time you can lose Club World Cup matches, you can lose Champions League matches, you can lose crucial Carabao Cup matches and league matches. With four or five weeks out you can lose 10 to 12 matches. This can be too much.' Looking at the current squad, whether he is playing a three-man defence with wing-backs as he has done for the majority of the season, or a back-four as against Tottenham midweek, Tuchel highlights that he has only one player who is ideal to fit where Reece James may have played. 'If we play in the back-five, it's Azpi, if we play a back-four and the need is maybe a bit more defensive full-back with different characteristics to protect the offensive players, it is also Azpi. Maybe it could be Trevoh Chalobah but he is out with injury. 'So we were running out of options. If you talk about Christian Pulisic or Callum Hudson-Odoi, they can for sure only play wing-back, this is only fair to them. It's not their preferred position and they cannot show their full potential if they play there, and they can for sure not play full-back. https://i.imgur.com/cDSTLAo.jpg Happily Cesar Azpilicueta's problem midweek was only cramp 'So you lose options not only personnel-wise but also in tactics and formation. That's why we look into the market and we check our options but in the end it needs to make sense, it's not only pure numbers. It's needs to be a good mix of high quality, high-level attitude and character. 'If we had a full squad I would love to say we do nothing [in the transfer market] because we're only happy, but we have this issue and that's why we look into what's possible.' --------------------------------------------------------------------------- https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/2022/01/08/lukaku-an-option-for-fa-cup-tie- Lukaku an option for FA Cup tie 08 Jan 2022 He is not making the choice until matchday but Thomas Tuchel confirmed in advance that Romelu Lukaku is in his thinking for his starting 11 to take on Chesterfield in the FA Cup. https://i.imgur.com/SSfhjzj.jpg The Blues host the non-league side at Stamford Bridge later today and it is the first game since the centre-forward was restored to the team and played 90 minutes against Tottenham, following his omission altogether against Liverpool last weekend. 'Every game is a game for Romelu to start but we will take the decision in the morning - he is an option to start again,' declared Tuchel ahead of Friday's final training for the match. 'We need to see how the reaction was to the 90 minutes he played because it was very intense when we saw the data for him and the effort, which was very, very good. I will have a chat with him [Lukaku], a chat with the fitness guys and then we will decide.' The everchanging Covid and injury numbers Tuchel has faced in the past few weeks has been a huge challenge and our head coach suggests the FA Cup may mean a chance for Academy players once again, as there has been in recent Carabao Cup games. 'It's complicated and if we have a cup game in our schedule right now it is a chance for youth players to be part of the squad, to get some minutes, but overall we want to be competitive,' he adds. 'The main objective is not resting players, the main objective is to be competitive and have a chance to win. It will stay like this no matter how complicated the situation is, which is complicated enough. Over the last weeks it's getting very difficult to adapt at short notice. https://i.imgur.com/TAK0GiJ.jpg Academy attacking midfielder Harvey Vale made his second appearance midweek against Spurs 'It might sound maybe like an excuse, which it is not, we just try to explain where we are and where we come from and what we all demand of ourselves. On matchday we will always be there to prepare the team to win, we will demand the highest from ourselves to reach 100 per cent on this particular day. 'If we miss important players we have to find 100 per cent in a different style or in a different manner.' -- "We believe the same thing." "Maybe there is hope." - 9x20 The Truth --

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