While Chelsea is preparing for a better final third of the season, it has been revealed that their former manager, Thomas Tuchel, who Bayern Munich recently employed, is planning a revenge swoop on the club.
It has been a rather forgetful season for Chelsea, who, after their ludicrous summer and winter spending, are still languishing in a “below par” 10th place in the Premier League table. But although their season could be salvaged or even uplifted if they can best things like Real Madrid, Bayern Munich/Manchester City, and even go ahead to win the UEFA Champions League, the prospects don't seem very bright. For a surety, this is their most probable route toward securing European football next season, as it seems to be an uphill task for them to leapfrog Fulham, Brentford, and Brighton. But this doesn't in any way mean that they are favorites for the Champions League finals.
And while most of the proceeds from their transfer exploit have not actually yielded much fruit, some of them, like Enzo Fernandez, Andrey Santos, and Benoit Badiashile, have shown signs of promise and talent. The others, like Mykhaylo Mudryk, Datro Fofana, and the youngsters, have not proved to be the club’s most impressive signings.
The manager, Graham Potter, has also been under intense criticism and scrutiny over the last few months. And even though he has managed a recent 3 successive wins out of 4 games, his last dramatic draw against Everton has put him in the crosshairs of angry fans and the media. Although most of the faults may not be attributed to him due to the fact that this is his first season at the club wherein he joined at a time when the club was experiencing a bad downtime under former manager Thomas Tuchel, and the reports of Todd Boehly being the one in charge of the transfers, it doesn't totally absolve him of the tactical errors he's made that have cost the team.
Graham Potter looks frustrated after a lost game (Getty)
At the time Potter was called up to join Chelsea, most Chelsea fans were against the sacking of Thomas Tuchel. The German tactician had won them 4 major trophies and enacted a style of football very much loved by the fans. The sacking shocked most fans, and there were reports that it resulted from a streak of bad blood between the German manager and the new owner, Todd Boehly. So there was no surprise when Chelsea fans were in low spirits when FC Bayern Munich announced the appointment of Thomas Tuchel as the new manager after they sacked Julian Nagelsmann.
Most football fans will be anticipating a meeting between Bayern Munich and Chelsea, if both teams qualify for the semi-final of the Champions League, as they would love to see how Thomas Tuchel would repay the Chelsea-faithful for the deed they had done. But while that match may or may not materialize, Thomas Richard has already reviewed the first blow he will land on Chelsea. On his appointment at Bayern Munich, the German tactician confirmed the members of his backroom staff, including Arno Michels, Zsolt Low, and Anthony Barry (currently at Chelsea). Barry is a member of Potter’s current staff at Chelsea, but it seems that Thomas Tuchel wants to bring the assistant manager to Germany to work with him after 3 years at Chelsea.
This could pose to be a major blow for Chelsea as he is one of the staff Boehly didn't fire or replace in recent months, which shows his integral place in the team and club as a whole.