Thomas Tuchel has seen his odds to become the next Premier League manager to leave his post dramatically slashed following the sanctions placed on Roman Abramovich.
Chelsea owner Abramovich had his assets frozen on Thursday morning in the wake of Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine, and although the Blues have still been allowed to continue to function as a club, there is now a large sense of uncertainty hanging over Stamford Bridge.
Tuchel has always insisted that he is happy to remain at the club whatever happens with Abramovich, but on Thursday morning he saw his odds to become the next Premier League manager to leave his post slashed from 40/1 down to 8/1.
Reflecting on the odds movement, Alex Apati of Ladbrokes said: "It looks like there are even more uncertain times ahead in West London, and despite already having added a Champions League triumph to his resume, punters seemingly think Thomas Tuchel could soon be set for a surprise Stamford Bridge exit."
Abramovich announced that he intended to sell the club last week, before sanctions came in, with Tuchel reacting to the news prior to his side's FA Cup fifth round clash with Luton.
"It's a bit too early because it's big news. It's a bit too early to speak because I can only think about Chelsea with Roman Abramovich," he said back then.
"So it's very hard for me. It hasn't sunk in yet that this is going to stop. It's a massive change of course.
"We did not talk about it [before the Luton match]. We did not talk about it, we accepted it. The players have internet connections, they watch TV so of course they knew, they get messages. But still we focused on the preparation only on sports."
The government have confirmed that Chelsea have been given a special license to keep fulfilling fixtures despite the sanctions on their owner, although they are unable to sell new tickets for matches and could face restrictions on travel for away games.
The government said in a statement: "Given the significant impact that today’s sanctions would have on Chelsea football club and the potential knock on effects of this, the Government has this morning published a licence which authorises a number of football-related activities to continue at Chelsea.
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"This includes permissions for the club to continue playing matches and other football related activity which will in turn protect the Premier League, the wider football pyramid, loyal fans and other clubs.
"This licence will only allow certain explicitly named actions to ensure the designated individual is not able to circumvent UK sanctions.
"The licence will be kept under constant review and we will work closely with the football authorities."
