Looking for Soccer News?
'If a woman doesn't want to go for dinner you can't force her' - Tuchel laughs off Werner miss & discusses Aguero & Haaland
The Blues boss answered questions on the club's future transfer business ahead of a home clash against West Brom
Thomas Tuchel has addressed the rumours claiming that Chelsea are out to sign Dortmund star Erling Haaland and Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero.
Haaland's father Alf-Inge was pictured with his agent Mino Raiola in Barcelona yesterday amid claims that the duo were holding meetings regarding a possible transfer for the Dortmund forward.
Spanish press reports claimed that discussions were due to be held with as many as four English clubs on Friday, including Chelsea, but Tuchel, who also discussed Timo Werner's incredible miss for Germany, refused to be drawn on the matter of transfers.
What has Tuchel said?
"He's (Haaland) a Borussia Dortmund player, and, of course, there's big news around him and his agent," Tuchel said. "It seems like they are creating a race for the player. But still, everybody needs to accept, and I will fully accept, that he is a Borussia Dortmund player.
"He is a very promising player, of course, but concerning the situation, he's not in our squad. He's not in our club so there's no comment on anything else regarding him."
After that, the focus turned to Aguero, with Tuchel adding: "It is the same answer as for Haaland. We have full respect for Manchester City and for Sergio Aguero, who is a big player for them.
"There are no words needed from me about the achievements of this guy, he is a world-class player. But don't forget, we compete in three competitions with Manchester City so I will never speak about their players and talk about a player's future.
"It's their player and I expect they do the same with our players. We are rivals and, as I said, there are no words needed from me to praise Sergio Aguero's career. It is outstanding and speaks for itself. And it's not finished yet.
"He is still a player for City and will still help them to achieve their goals, which is a big collision to our goals because we are following the same things."
What about Werner?
And despite the forward making more headlines after a huge miss during Germany's 2-1 defeat to North Macedonia, Tuchel is growing tired of the attention and urged him to block out the noise.
"First of all, it was a bad pass from Ilkay Gundogan. That's how I see it," he said. "No, I am just joking! Of course, he misses that chance and everyone is passionate to talk about, which is annoying.
"Life at the moment is all about talking about Timo Werner, how to play Timo Werner and he didn't start three times for Germany so maybe with more minutes, he would score more. It is an easy solution to point the finger at Timo, which I cannot understand.
"I am happy that he is here at the moment because he is protected here. We demand a lot from him and get a lot from him. The best thing is to look at the situation honestly, not focus on the bad things, but look at it honestly.
"Yes, he is in a moment where he lacks confidence and where things are not too easy. He scores still for us. He is doing assists for us. He is winning decisive penalties for us. So, if this is the most critical point in your career, you can still accept it and say, 'okay, it’s pretty impressive so far'.
"I trust and I hope that he does the same. I talk to him about it. This guy has never stopped scoring since he was five years old so he can trust that his brain and his body remembers what to do. It is absolutely usual for him to score.
"So, it will come back. It is just a matter of time. But it is much easier said than done because it is the moment not to think about it and not to read about it and not even to train extra. Yesterday I sent him in from training because he wanted to do some finishing with us. I just sent him in.
"I said: 'you don’t need that, your body, your brain knows how to score. You did it since you were six years old so don’t worry, it will come'. If a woman does not want to go out with you to dinner, you cannot force her to, you just step a little bit back and maybe she will call you. So the goals will come, he will start tomorrow."
