Chelsea boss Tuchel handed boost amid potential defensive crisis

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel was left frustrated on Sunday, as he was forced to take his side to face Wolves at Molineux despite having seven first team players ruled out due to Covid-19. 

Despite six other games being postponed over the weekend, Chelsea’s situation was deemed not serious enough for the game to be postponed, despite all three of the club’s strikers being ruled out after testing positive.

With Romelu Lukaku, Timo Werner, Kai Havertz and Jorginho among those sidelined, Tuchel will have been relatively happy with the 0-0 draw that his side earned, although they are now six points off top spot in the Premier League.

With Jorginho the only player who missed the Wolves game to return to the squad ahead of the Carabao Cup tie against Brentford on Wednesday, Tuchel still has several selection headaches to navigate.

One of the few areas in which the German is not short is central defence, although he faces longterm problems in that department, with four senior centre-backs set to leave the club next summer.

The game against Wolves was Azpilicueta’s 446th for the Blues, moving him ahead of Dennis WIse in the all time list

Now, however, Tuchel has had some encouraging news, with Cesar Azpilicueta reportedly keen on staying in SW6, according to The Athletic.

The Spaniard, along with Thiago Silva, Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen, are all set to be out of contract next summer, meaning that any one of them could sign a pre-contract agreement with any foreign club in January.

The news of Azpilicueta’s desire to stay, however, is a welcome boost for Tuchel, whose success since arriving in the capital has been based firmly on an outstanding defensive record.

The 32-year-old, who moved seventh in the list of the Blues’ all-time appearance makers after starting the draw with Wolves, had been linked with a return to Spain, with Barcelona reportedly interested in his services.

The latest news though rubbishes those reports, with it now looking likely that the Spaniard will extend his stay with the club beyond a decade, having arrived in England in 2012.