“A lot can happen”- Chelsea star “surprised” by club’s decision to sack Thomas Tuchel

Kai Havertz is surprised at the decision made by Chelsea to sack Thomas Tuchel

Speaking to Kicker (h/t Metro), Chelsea forward Kai Havertz expressed his surprise and questioned the club’s decision to sack Thomas Tuchel from the managerial role.

The Blues relieved Tuchel of his duties a week after the deadline day of the transfer window. The German played a massive role, together with co-owner Todd Boehly, to complete the deals and bring players in. It had to be done because the club had no sporting director to identify and sign new players.

Two important signings – striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and centre-back Wesley Fofana were done on and around the deadline day. So, the former Mainz coach did not get much time to work with the squad fully assembled a week ago, irrespective of an indifferent start to the season.

Here’s Havertz talking about the decision and expressing his displease (h/t Metro):

“Me too (it surprised me). Especially when you consider how we’ve played in the past year and a half and what we’ve won.

With the current sixth place in the table, you can’t speak of a messed up start to the season, especially since we have many newcomers who first have to acclimatize But football is very fast-moving, a lot can happen at any time.”

Havertz arrived at Chelsea from Bayer Leverkusen in September 2020 for a deal worth around £71m. After only a few months working under Frank Lampard, he joined hands with former Paris Saint-Germain manager Tuchel.

He was deployed as a number nine or as a support striker under the 49-year-old. Together, their best moment was winning the Champions League in 2021, with Havertz scoring the winning and only goal of the final.

It was not all doom and gloom in the player’s talk though, as he touched upon how new manager Graham Potter has made a very good impression on him and the squad. He is confident about the quality of the squad moving forward.

More Chelsea News:

• Antonio Rudiger surprised at the timing of Chelsea’s decision to sack Tuchel
• Chelsea target and Barcelona winger Ousmane Dembele has a release clause valid for next summer
• Borussia Dortmund set an asking price of £131m for Chelsea target Jude Bellingham

A lot has been said since the departure of Tuchel, and understandably so. But, now is the time for the players to not distract themselves with events of the past and focus on doing well under the new manager. Questioning the club’s decision to sack a manager is not going to help the confidence-building of the new person in charge.