Precious
Thomas Tuchel insists Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham has not ‘had the impact we wish and demand from him’ and admits he’s had a ‘rough time’… as Blues boss casts doubt over including the forward despite his return to fitness
Thomas Tuchel has admitted that Tammy Abraham has not had the impact he demands from him after leaving the Chelsea striker out in the cold in recent weeks.
The 23-year-old is the Blues’ highest goalscorer this season with 12 goals in 30 appearances but has struggled to make Chelsea’s matchday squad since returning from an ankle injury.
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Abraham has missed the last month’s worth of action due to the ankle issue but has since return to fitness, while there was confusion as to why he was left out of Tuchel’s 18-man squad for their 5-2 drubbing by West Brom on Saturday.
Abraham will be desperate to get minutes under his belt with this summer’s delayed Euros fast approaching but Tuchel has insisted that he will not be making decisions based on individual player’s goals to play international football.
Tuchel explained that leaving Abraham out is nothing personal but has admitted that the forward hasn’t quite had the desired effect as of late.
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‘I cannot make a decision on the personal goals of players,’ Tuchel told reporters on Friday. ‘Kepa [Arrizabalaga] has the goal to play for Spain but this can’t influence my decisions.
‘I’ve got to do what I believe is best for Chelsea. Tammy has had a rough time. He started twice or three times and substituted for tactical reasons at half-time.
‘He’s not had the impact we wish and demand from him. He then got injured, lost the connection and possibility to play for his place the squad.
‘Now suddenly we’re in the decisive part of the season, where it’s not so easy to bring injured players into the shape. We’ve only got three changes and a big handicap.
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‘It’s up to Tammy to do everything possible. We have 22 players on the pitch and it’s very hard to select 18 for Premier League matches.
‘In the offensive position it’s possible to have a huge impact in small minutes. We demand a lot of Tammy, he demands a lot of himself.’
