Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Football London
Football London
Sport
Scott Trotter

Tuchel's reaction to what Ruben Loftus-Cheek and 'next Jadon Sancho' did to Andreas Christensen

The days are counting down until Premier League football returns and Chelsea take on Brentford on Saturday. Thomas Tuchel has been fortunate enough to have some of his elite players available to him early in the week such as Hakim Ziyech and Romelu Lukaku who did not have any international commitments, while Jorginho was allowed to return to Cobham early.

The break was well needed for Tuchel and his squad after a relentless two months of football with the backdrop of the Blues operating under a special license and the prospect of a takeover on the horizon. April will offer no respite seven matches on the cards and takeover deadlines, leaving the German coach with a lot of press conferences and a lot of questions to answer.

First team training appeared to get back underway on Tuesday with a number of injury boosts for Chelsea and the work continued into Wednesday. We take a look at what occurred in Wednesday's sessions.

READ MORE: Antonio Rudiger, Thiago Silva and the Chelsea trick Thomas Tuchel may repeat against Brentford

Thomas Tuchel likes what he sees from Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Charlie Webster

With much of the Chelsea first-team still on international duty or on their travels, it can often leave room for a number of youngsters to get involved with training. However, given the talents of the Blues' academy at Cobham, often they are also with national sides competing with their age groups.

On this occasion, Charlie Webster had been called up by England under-18s but is already back working hard with the Blues. The young starlet has already been named the best player at the 'Kevin De Bruyne Cup' youth tournament, when the Blues came away victorious in 2019, and has seen comparisons with Jadon Sancho after speculation linked him to Borussia Dortmund, though the kind of player he is very different.

He showed his talent at Cobham on Wednesday however. Taking part in small-sided matches with small goals, Webster combined with Ruben Loftus-Cheek for a one-two past Andreas Christensen, that left the Denmark international scrambling. The 18-year-old coolly finished before Tuchel made his praise clear. The Blues boss blew his whistle and said: "Very, very good guys." Webster continued to be praised during the games as he looked to make an impression.

The set-up

The games were set up for players to have three touches and there would be a floating player and there was a great deal of intense play. Coaches were by the goal lines to provide a pass too.

Trevoh Chalobah was ambitious with his play, backing up a solid block in the rondos, with an attempt on goal from distance that could only just curl to hit the post before Ross Barkley fed him to comfortably finish later in the drill. Former Everton midfielder Barkley was featured with some attacking success of his own, slotting in to cause Reece James to turn around with a look of sheer disgust that his team had conceded. Barkley also pressed Webster hard, to let him know the standard of the first team. The England youth star dealt with it well however as he took the ball on the turn. The remainder of the footage available sees a rondo and some shooting drills with Marcus Bettinelli in goal.

Shooting drills and Jorginho's return

The roles of Bettinelli and Jorginho really appears to have set the standard for the session. After his World Cup disappointment, the Italian made a swift return and his voice can be heard throughout training, as he encourages his teammates during the games to retain the intensity.

Once the shooting drills begin, it's Jorginho's quality that is praised however as he sends a firm pass from the wing into the box to the call of 'Good Jorgi!' before Bettinelli responds in kind with a brilliant save. It wasn't the former Fulham stopper's last either as he gets down low to his right to also save from Loftus-Cheek. It required inch-perfect strikes to beat the Blues' reserver stopper.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.