Ahead of tonight’s UEFA Super Cup clash versus Sevilla, Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel was very tight-lipped over the imminent addition of Romelu Lukaku. He was however, very open about the first main ripple effect the Lukaku transfer will have on his roster.
That concerns current Chelsea center forward Tammy Abraham, who has been linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge all summer.
Abraham wasn’t getting as many minutes as he really deserved last season, and adding Lukaku (who is set to return to Chelsea this week on a club-record €115 million deal) will only further complicate things.
UEFA Super Cup FYIs
Kickoff: Wed, 8pm, Belfast
Chelsea Starting XI Prediction: go here
Chelsea team news: go here
TV: BT Sport 1 (UK), CBS Sports Network (USA)
Official: Sergei Karasev, VAR: Marco Fritz
“I will not comment on the actual situations — how far this is and if it’s true and not true,” Tuchel said.
“Tammy is right now in the squad. He was clearly not happy with the last half a year and maybe he has reason also not to be happy. Maybe it was also my fault not to push him, not to trust him on the same level I maybe trusted other players.
“I can absolutely understand that he wants more minutes.”
Abraham has been linked with a move to several Premier League clubs this summer, including West Ham, Aston Villa and even Arsenal. Tuchel wasn’t able to verify whether Abraham will stay or go this season.
“So the decision will be ‘how do we plan, what are Tammy’s plans, does he fight his way back into the team from the position where he ended last season or does he want to change club to have the chance of being a regular starter?'”
While the Lukaku transfer is going to happen, it’s still being severely slowed. As for Abraham, don’t be surprised if this is a transfer saga that rumbles all the way until deadline day on August 31.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune.
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