Former Manchester United defender and now pundit Gary Neville reckons Thomas Tuchel and his Chelsea players have done 'unbelievably well' to block out all the takeover noise and uncertainty off the pitch, to build form and momentum on it.
Since soon-to-be owner Roman Abramovich made the failed move to try and hand over the daily running of the club to a select few trustees of the Chelsea Foundation, one would not have been wrong to think that the Blues' form would have taken a significant dip with what has been going on behind the scenes. That move was then followed by the government's decision to sanction the Russian oligarch and therefore deprive him of his greatest asset - the rest is history after that.
With the 19-year owner looking to sell the Blues, Tuchel, the players and the fans have been looking forward to what's next in the history of the club. Raine Group, the organisation selected to run the negotiation process, have now whittled down the consortium list to four to five options with American representation dominating the agenda.
READ MORE: Chelsea sale: Gary Neville outlines potential Ricketts Group and Todd Boehly takeover problem
Undoubtedly, alongside the preparations for the Brentford game which will be getting underway at Cobham, Tuchel and co will have been briefed by senior club members like Petr Cech of what is happening regarding the takeover race. "It is a huge amount of money," the Blues' head coach said in a previous press conference. "That’s why I am also confident because I think if somebody buys a club for this kind of money then it’s about challenging at the highest kind of level, then it’s about trophies, then it’s about winning and it’s about being the best you can. It's not about developing a project, it's not about making money with the club."
The calm nature and supportive approach Tuchel has given off to the media during his tense press conferences has endeared him more to the Blues fanbase but even to a plethora of pundits and owners alike who have praised his handling of the situation - Crystal Palace's Steve Parish comes to mind. And Neville has now joined that bandwagon with his overall verdict on how he believes the players and managers alike have handled a situation that could have filtered onto the pitch but hasn't so far. The current World and European Champions are on a winning streak of six ahead of club football resuming after this latest March international break.
"Firstly for the players and the manager, they have done unbelievably well in the last few weeks to carry on as they have done in winning all the games" Neville said on the third series of the Overlap's Fan Debate. "That's the first thing to say with the disruption and distraction that has gone on in the club. So, it tells you that when you have got a real strong manager and strong changing room which Chelsea have, you can withstand all the stuff that is going on externally and outside.
"Opposite of what we were talking about before with Man United."
