Thomas Tuchel is expected to be confirmed as Chelsea’s new manager by Tuesday at the latest.The German coach will be unveiled by the Blues as Frank Lampard’s successor following the Englishman’s dismissal on Monday.Lampard was sacked following Sunday’s 3-1 win over Luton Town in the FA Cup after just 18 months."This was a very difficult decision for the club, not least because I have an excellent personal relationship with Frank and I have the utmost respect for him," Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich said via a statement."He is a man of great integrity and has the highest of work ethics. However, under current circumstances we believe it is best to change managers."
Tuchel, 47, has established his status as one of Europe’s best coaches in recent years.He began his managerial career with Augsburg in 2007 before moving on to Mainz in 2009.Tuchel then impressed at Borussia Dortmund between 2015-2017 and spent the past couple of seasons with Paris Saint-Germain, who sacked the German in December.
Former Manchester United captain-turned-pundit Gary Neville had his say about Monday’s surprise developments on Sky Sports News.Neville says he doesn’t feel sorry for Lampard because everyone knows how Chelsea operate.And he expects that Tuchel will also be sacked by the west London outfit within the next 18-24 months.Neville said: “If Tuchel comes in, he’ll be exposed to exactly the same rules as Frank and we’ll be talking about him being let go in the next 18 months to two years, I’m pretty sure of that.”A manager tipped to be sacked before he’s even been appointed, that’s surely a first.It sums up the madness of Chelsea, or perhaps the madness of modern football in general.
“It’s a great addition to the Premier League if he does come,” Neville added.“I honestly sit here today with no feeling of sorry for Frank and no feeling that he’s done anything but a really good job. It’s Chelsea, that’s what Chelsea do.“Frank is not a victim of his poor performance as a manager. Frank is just someone who’s been exposed to Chelsea’s model of releasing and employing managers every 12-18 months if things don’t go as well as they want, and that’s a pretty high standard that they live to.“I don’t have any worry for Frank’s managerial career because I think he’ll do a brilliant job. He’s handled himself fantastically well in that job at Chelsea, it’s a tough job that one.”Hear Neville’s thoughts in full here…