Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel says a deal for Barcelona forward Ousmane Dembele was never close during the transfer window
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Published 04/02/2022 at 15:29 GMT
Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel says a deal for Barcelona's Ousmane Dembele was never close during the January transfer window. The French winger has been seemingly on the way out of the Camp Nou for the last few months, but Tuchel says his side were not one of the interested parties. Tuchel has however bolstered his squad with the recall of Brazilian Kenedy from Flamengo.
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Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel says that he was never in for Barcelona's Ousmane Dembele in January.
The wantaway France winger has been continuously linked with a number of clubs as his relationship with the Camp Nou hierarchy has disintegrated, but Tuchel - already with a surfeit of players in Dembele's position - confirmed he had not spoken with the Frenchman and was happy with the lower-key business his club completed, such as the recall of exiled Brazilian Kenedy from Flamengo.
"I am satisfied because it was a calm window and to be calm was the best thing," Tuchel told the press ahead of his team's FA Cup tie with Plymouth Argyle on Saturday lunchtime.
"We were open for things. I did not have contact with Ousmane [Dembele]. There was no contact in winter between us."
And on the return of Kenedy - who will provide cover for the injured Ben Chilwell - Tuchel added: "It's a clean slate and I think he knows it.
"I followed him for many years and he was very impressive in the beginning.
"He lost track a little bit and maybe couldn't fulfil the demands from the outside I had. But this is life. He gets a second or third chance to be here and it's not about what happened.
"He was good in pre-season, decided he wanted to go back to Brazil, but now he is here.
"If we play with a wing-back, it's a perfect role for him given his profile as a player.
"He has a strong left foot, strong in possession, can shoot and cross very precisely. That's more or less it.
"He is a very nice guy, very talented, and let's see where he is.
"Now it is his duty to get fit and we have to bring him to match fitness and then he needs some minutes. However that will work out – he needs to deserve it, but he’s now part of the group.
"It's a huge opportunity and I am very happy to give it to him and help him make the best of it."
Tuchel also aired his views once more on the hectic schedule, particularly relating to the demands placed on Christian Pulisic and Thiago Silva who were on international duty in the last few days before having to embark on lengthy transatlantic flights home.
"It's about quantity and not quality," Tuchel said. "The people want to see quality football, the quality players, and for this they need rest, [to be] not injured and healthy. We need a leaner schedule.
"In one year now we've had 67 matches or something like this and then you have European competitions, World Cup qualifiers, and more, the effort is huge."
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