https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/2022/05/22/
tuchel-says-more-to-come-from-pulisic-and-blues-forwards
Tuchel says more to come from Pulisic and Blues forwards
22 May 2022
As our 2021/22 campaign comes to an end today, Thomas Tuchel has been
looking ahead to next season and how we can improve, identifying the final
third and one player in particular as having plenty more potential.
https://i.imgur.com/JMSnlFi.jpg
As we host Watford at Stamford Bridge in our final Premier League fixture,
with a third-place finish all but guaranteed after Thursday's draw with
Leicester City, our head coach's mind has been occupied by plans for the
future and how we can finish higher up the table next time around.
He feels the final third of the pitch could be key in that aim, seeing
plenty of room for improvement by the Blues in that area, with our without
new additions to the squad, once he has had time to reflect on our
performances this season.
'If we stick to the group then we will try to solve it with these
players,' said Tuchel. 'Is it necessary to bring more offensive players
around the box to create more distraction, to create more space for each
other? We will ask that question.
'Can we do better in the structure? Can we push the players more? Did we
maybe rotate too much? Let's see. There are a lot of options.
https://i.imgur.com/al9eY3l.jpg
'We need to produce more numbers because the numbers we produce from our
offensive players don't allow us to over-perform and we need
over-performance. If we want to be nearer to the top two teams we need
over-performance.
'I'm not pointing fingers or blaming anybody but we need over-performance
from everybody and it's not over-performance if we have only single
figures in scoring and assisting.'
Tuchel also identified one player who could contribute significantly to
that improvement around the box. Christian Pulisic , although a skilful
attacker, has never been a prolific scorer challenging at the top of the
goal charts.
The American's 11 goals for Chelsea in 2019/20 remains the best return of
his career so far. However, the Blues boss believes he has the potential
for much more ahead, if the 23-year-old can add a clinical streak to his
game.
'He's not that player who produced in the last three years 30 goals and
it's a matter of time until he is that kind of player. We will push him to
the limit.
https://i.imgur.com/q28fdJ6.jpg
Pulisic trains at Cobham this week
'We're not pointing fingers but we struggle with over-performance in this
area and our opponents have certain quality and efficiency on a normal
level that is far beyond our level of goals and assists.
'Maybe we need to help in the way we attack, maybe we can help in the
structure of how we attack. We will try to help. We are not blaming
anybody, it's just a fact and we have to get our heads around it.'
Of course, in addition to the continued development of our team and
individual players, the summer transfer market could also provide
opportunities to improve our squad for next season, both in attack and
other key areas.
Given the disadvantage we are likely to suffer due to a late entry into
the market because of Government sanctions, though, Tuchel says we will
need to take a clever approach to any recruitment in the coming months.
'Maybe we suffer already from the delay, but we will for sure try to have
our impact and we have a strong opinion of what's missing and what we need
for the squad and we will try everything to find it, give our opinion and
fight for it.
https://i.imgur.com/yGRNryc.jpg
Tuchel is already planning for next season
'Now we have to be smart and fast as soon as the sanctions are lifted,
because they are not lifted at the moment. There are good signs and there
is progression, but actually nothing changed so far for us.
'We are not able to sign our players and we are not able to sell players
or swap players or to contact players. So there's a lot of work to do and
a lot of key players are at the end of their contracts. There are some key
players already out, Thiago is not getting younger, so there are some
things to solve.'