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Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel insists Saul Niguez was not a signing forced on him by the club.
Spanish midfielder Saul has barely featured for Chelsea since his deadline day loan arrival from Atletico Madrid and a difficult debut against Aston Villa when he was subbed at half-time.
He has made just one other Premier League appearance as an 88th minute sub at Newcastle and his only two other starts have come in the Carabao Cup.
His lack of action, especially in light of the recent absences of fellow central midfielders Mateo Kovacic and N’Golo Kante, sparked doubts about whether his deal was one pushed by those above him rather than head coach Tuchel.
But the German said: ‘A club signing? No, we don’t do this. Until now we didn’t do club signings and coach’s signings. We do signings because we decide together because we believe it’s a good pick and a good addition to the squad, and this was exactly the case.’
Chelsea have 10 games in the next 33 days and in light of their injury issues in midfield Kovacic and Kante are out of Wednesday’s Watford trip and Jorginho is a doubt more opportunities may emerge for Saul.
Tuchel said: ‘I think every single player needs his time to adapt and Saul needed his time. He competes with a lot of high quality players in midfield.
‘We need to understand him a bit better, not in terms of language, but in terms what is his real strength, the detail of the player, what can he add to the squad, where is his maybe unique quality and it was not easy.
‘I guess it’s the first time he plays for another club than Atletico, he comes from the academy there, and we have to accept the style of the game is so different from Spain to here.
‘It teaches us a lesson that everybody needs individual time to adapt and since many days he is stronger, I feel him a bit more relaxed and at the same time that gives him a little bit more freedom to impose his quality. He’s very strong in finishing, in arriving in the box.
‘In the moment, where we have injured players in the midfield, even Jorgi doubtful for tomorrow, it’s the moment for him to be ready and I have the feeling since many days that he is ready and can show what he wants to show.’
Vincent Paul
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