By David Awopetu
Thomas Tuchel has been appointed as the new Chelsea Head Coach. He moves to Stamford Bridge following a two-and-a-half year spell at French champions Paris Saint-Germain, which came to an end last month.
He will be the first German to manage Chelsea and arrives having guided PSG to four major honours and the Champions League final during his time in the French capital.
Prior to that, he spent seven seasons coaching in the Bundesliga, first with Mainz, where he led them into the Europa League, and then a successful period with Borussia Dortmund where he won the German Cup.
Chelsea also confirmed that Tuchel would take charge of his first training session on Tuesday evening and will be in the Stamford Bridge dugout for Wednesday’s Premier League clash with Wolves.
“I would like to thank Chelsea FC for their confidence in me and my staff,” Tuchel told the club website.
“We all have the greatest respect for Frank Lampard’s work and the legacy he created at Chelsea. At the same time, I cannot wait to meet my new team and compete in the most exciting league in football.
Tuchel will not be exempt from coronavirus quarantine rules but will be granted an exemption by the Football Association to attend matches and training should he test negative before entering the UK, and then do so once again to enter a Premier League club’s bubble.
Outside those environments, he will have to serve a quarantine period of five days.
Tuchel takes charge of Chelsea barely five months after guiding Paris St-Germain to their first Champions League final.
He also comes with a record of success at each top-flight club he has managed.
Tuchel’s 75.6% win rate in Ligue 1 – over his two-and-a-half years in Paris – is the highest in the competition’s history.
His first task in his new job is to guide Chelsea to a top-four Premier League finish, with the club five points outside the Champions League qualification spots after last week’s 2-0 defeat at Leicester City.
