“We did not have this conversation” – Tuchel admits he has not held future talks with Chelsea star ‘not happy about the situation’ with respect to playing time
Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has revealed that goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga is unhappy with his current situation at the club.
The 27-year-old shot-stopper has played just 15 times for the Blues this term in all competitions.
Kepa has found his opportunities severely restricted due to the form of first-choice keeper Edouard Mendy. His most recent Premier League appearance came in January when Mendy was off with Senegal in their triumphant AFCON campaign.
Mendy has been performing so bad lately. Don’t know why Kepa is not getting a chance!! He deserves a chance after such horrendous few months from Mendy.
The Spaniard is still the most expensive goalkeeper in football history following his £71 million move from Athletic Bilbao in 2018. However, he has endured a mostly difficult time at Chelsea after committing a number of high-profile errors upon his arrival.
In a press-conference ahead of their match against Watford on May 22, Chelsea boss Tuchel commented on Kepa's future. The German said (as quoted by Football.London):
"It depends what he wants and it depends what his plans are, but I know that we are very privileged to have Edou (Mendy) and Kepa in our squad. I know for sure that Kepa is not happy about the situation and he deserves to play more and he can be a strong number one."
He added:
"He arrived as a number one goalkeeper so the situation is not easy. I can tell you that he is a fantastic team player since day one and always was and never let anybody down."
He then shared that he hasn't talked to Kepa about his future and added:
"So no, we did not have this conversation. I know the goalkeepers coaches have these conversations at the moment and then we will take our time to speak with him, reflect what’s best, what the possibilities are and I’m, of course as a coach, super happy to have both strong goalkeepers. Let’s see."
#CFCTuchel on Kepa’s future: “It depends on what he wants to do, what his plans will be…”. 🔵🇪🇸 #CFC
“I know for sure that Kepa is not happy about the situation and he deserves to play more and he can be a strong number one”, he added via @AdamNewson.
Tuchel concedes Chelsea's home form must improve next season
Chelsea have faced a tumultuous season following the sanctions placed on the club by the United Kingdom government. It came due to Blues owner Roman Abramovich's links with Vladimir Putin in the aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Their recent draw with Leicester at Stamford Bridge on May 19 meant the west London club have won just eight home games this season. This is something that Tuchel recognises is not good enough.
The 48-year-old claimed:
"Of course, I think we can do better. I think it is not a lot; it is margins. We will look into that, it is not the moment when I have analysed everything and I don’t have the answer because we would have changed it before."
He added:
"We struggle with efficiency, with goal scoring records, with consistency, with determination, with precision in the box against teams who defend deep."
This is where we finished with our home form after 19 games below Man u and Arsenal 😭😭😭
Chelsea really need rebuilding right now.
Terrible home form don't win you league https://t.co/u1UqvtRurz