Thomas Tuchel depending on Dujon Sterling to deal with Rudiger's exit.
Speaking in a post-match interview after Chelsea’s last game against Watford as quoted by Football.London, Blues boss Thomas Tuchel has clarified why Callum Hudson-Odoi and Marcos Alonso were absent from the squad for the Watford clash last night.
Chelsea emerged 2-1 winners against the already-relegated Watford with goals from Kai Havertz and Ross Barkley helping the Blues end off a difficult season on a positive note. Tuchel’s men didn’t have much to play for having already secured third spot but a win was nevertheless needed to cheer up the fans.
Two players who were not present in the squad for the game against the Hornets were Hudson-Odoi and Alonso. Whilst the Spaniard was a new absentee, Hudson-Odoi has been missing from the Blues squads for a very long time now.
When asked about the absence of these two players, Thomas Tuchel said:
“It’s a muscle injury more or less [for Callum Hudson-Odoi] that affected the whole leg, both legs. There is a lack of force that he can simply bring and the tests showed he lacked mobility and the force to be on the pitch. That’s why we miss him for so, so long.”
“Marcos Alonso, he had a back problem in our first match against West Ham where he needed to go out and then he missed some matches and had more or less the same in the last games, but he played with this pain through the match against Leicester but he felt the muscle contraction goes through to the hamstrings and it’s why it made no sense to take the risk on him.”
Chelsea have had a season to forget ending trophyless if we do not consider the Club World Cup. To say that injuries have wrecked the season for the Blues would be an understatement.
Both the full-back area and the midfield region were constantly stretched at different points this season. Reece James, Ben Chilwell, N’Golo Kante, Jorginho, Mateo Kovacic, Timo Werner, Romelu Lukaku, Hakim Ziyech and Callum Hudson-Odoi have all been injured at some point during the campaign.
This coupled with the off-field controversies surrounding the club has definitely not been ideal for the Blues to concentrate on football. Their performances have dipped ever since the Club World cup win back in February and the season has pretty much gone downhill.
Tuchel has a lot of work to do to rebuild the squad, considering the outgoing players and will have to make sure he has enough depth in the squad to combat injury troubles that may arise next season. The Blues will have to definitely have a better season next time around and the club will have to work towards that.
It remains to be seen what the Blues do in the transfer window and what kind of reinforcements Thomas Tuchel is looking to bring in during the transfer window. A huge summer awaits Chelsea ahead of the new era, and it is vital that we make the right decisions.
Alonso seemingly looks to be on his way out with a potential move to Barcelona on the cards while Hudson-Odoi continues to struggle for playing time. The futures of both these players, like a number of other individuals, must be decided upon at the earliest.
If they leave, a couple of new faces won’t hurt. There is no point keeping players that may be of little use to Tuchel but if he wants to keep the duo at the Bridge, the board would be wise to back him.
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