"The previous owner of Chelsea would have sacked him by now" - Gabriel Agbonlahor makes bold claims about Thomas Tuchel
Former Aston Villa forward Gabriel Agbonlahor has said that Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel would have been fired by the previous ownership in the aftermath of the Blues' 2-1 Premier League loss at Southampton.
The Blues slumped to their second defeat of the season during their trip to St. Mary's on August 30 (Tuesday). Romeo Lavia and Adam Armstrong helped the Saints bounce back after Raheem Sterling had opened the scoring for the visitors in the 23rd minute.
It marked only the second time in the last 27 Premier League seasons that they Blues have lost at least twice. In 2015-16, they lost three of their first five games and eventually finished tenth.
2 – Chelsea have lost at least two of their opening five games to a Premier League campaign for just the second time in 27 seasons, after losing three of their first five in 2015-16 – eventually finishing 10th place that year. Ominous. https://t.co/qmQIoBJy3z
Speaking on talkSPORT, Agbonlahor hit out at Tuchel for the west London outfit's recent underwhelming performances. He said:
"Thomas Tuchel has got to be under pressure. Chelsea are used to winning Premier League titles; now they are going to be looking at a fight for top four. Arsenal and Spurs are looking very good. They (Blues) could finish fifth this season. That is unacceptable with the amount of money they have spent."
He continued:
"The previous owner of Chelsea would have sacked him (Tuchel) by now for last season's Premier League finish. The amount of points they finished behind Manchester City and Liverpool and this season looks like it will go the same way."
Agbonlahor added that Tuchel was lucky to stay in the job last season, saying:
"Last season, I said that Tuchel was lucky to keep his job. Everyone hammered me for it, saying he had won the UEFA Champions League, got to finals, but they are boring to watch. I watched them against Leeds and watched them last night; they don't entertain me."
The former player also slammed Jorginho and Kai Havertz. He said:
"Jorginho can't run in midfield anymore; it's okay being good on the ball, but you need to be able to run in midfield now. (Kai) Havertz looked a shadow of the player he was a couple of years ago. For me, they have got problems. What are they going to do now? Spend another £100 million?"
🗣️ "We are not tough enough."
Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel reacts to their 2-1 defeat against Southampton 🗨️
https://t.co/qK6M8rfZ1P
Chelsea are eighth in the Premier League standings with seven points from five games. They will next face city rivals West Ham United at Stamford Bridge on Saturday (September 3).
Wesley Fofana set to be unveiled by Chelsea on Wednesday
According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, centre-back Wesley Fofana has completed all the formalities ahead of his £70 million move to Chelsea from Leicester City this summer. The 21-year-old has penned a six-year deal and is expected to be unveiled by the Blues on Wednesday.
The west London outfit have made six additions to their squad this summer. They have signed Raheem Sterling, Kalidou Koulibaly, Marc Cucurella, Carney Chukwuemeka, Cesare Casadei, and Gabriel Slonina for a combined sum of over £180 million.