Thomas Tuchel admits he is surprised to have outlived the ruthless Roman Abramovich regime at Chelsea.
The Blues boss is leading the Todd Boehly revolution with the new owner investing heavily in his genius. But it is a far cry from last year when Tuchel succeeded Frank Lampard, fired by former chief negotiator Marina Granovskaia.
At the time he insisted he could deal with the pressure he was under to win.Now he has outlasted them all.
Tuchel joked: “I could never have imagined that I stayed longer at the club than Roman, Marina and Petr. This was impossible so now with Marina not in charge and Petr not here anymore it has changed a lot.
“We didn’t see that coming and of course with Todd taking over as a sports director we are in a very intense and close relationship to get the signings done and get the team better.”
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Boehly has wasted no time in supporting the German and Tuchel has been swept off his feet by the speed with which the American has been delivering on his promises.
Raheem Sterling, the first name on Tuchel’s wishlist, has been landed. Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly is on his way, a deal has been agreed with Manchester City for Nathan Ake and talks are ongoing with PSG for defender Presnel Kimpembe.
“It is intense at the moment,” he smiled. “And we connect and adapt to each other because we have never worked together and they are the owners.
“I am in contact with Todd directly on a daily basis and sometimes more than once on a daily basis because we are aware that we have a club in transition and change.
“My concern is the team to be competitive and for this we have to invest a lot of time and we need to be hands on. There is no other way.
“We play and compete not only against the best teams but also against the best managers. We need to be competitive and replace big players and infuse quality.”
New contracts are also on the cards for England pair Mason Mount and Reece James and goalkeeper Edouard Mendy.
Tom Glick, the former Manchester City official, will shortly be announced as the new chief executive as Boehly and the Americans continue to make their mark at Stamford Bridge.
Talks are also ongoing with a number of candidates for the role of director of football.
