Chelsea’s new manager Thomas Tuchel has admitted to waiting for “many years” to have French midfield powerhouse N’Golo Kante in his team.
The German tactician replaced Frank Lampard as Blues boss this week and has already taken charge of his first game, though his side could only draw 0-0 at home to Wolves last night.
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Kante was not available for this game, but Tuchel spoke afterwards about how happy he is to finally work with the 29-year-old, hinting strongly that he’d have liked to sign him in some of his previous jobs.
“The funny thing is when you join a team in the middle of the season, I already know the likes of Kai [Havertz], Timo [Werner], Toni [Rudiger]. I wanted many years to have N’Golo Kante in my team and now I have him here, also Olivier Giroud, we have a clear picture,” Tuchel said in a press conference, as quoted by Goal.
Tuchel was most recently manager of Paris Saint-Germain before being sacked earlier this season, and it’s easy to imagine the Ligue 1 giants might have been a possible destination for a big name like Kante.
CFC supporters will be glad, however, that Tuchel is now at Stamford Bridge and able to work his magic with players like Kante here.
Tuchel’s praise for Kante could also be reassuring for the player himself after the Telegraph reported on him being unsettled by so many managerial changes during his time with the club.