Chelsea star Kai Havertz has admitted to being surprised that the club decided to sack Thomas Tuchel recently, even if the Blues hadn’t made the most convincing start to the season.
The Blues suddenly decided to part company with Tuchel just after the Champions League defeat against Dinamo Zagreb, with Graham Potter swiftly poached from Brighton to come in and replace him in the Stamford Bridge dugout.
Havertz seems to think Tuchel was doing a good job, as he expressed his surprise that the German tactician was dismissed after how much success he’d had in his time in west London.
Still, the 23-year-old also gave a positive account of Potter’s start as Chelsea manager, saying the former Brighton boss had made a good impression in training early on.
“Me too (it surprised me). Especially when you consider how we’ve played in the past year and a half and what we’ve won,” Havertz told Kicker, as translated by the Metro.
“With the current sixth place in the table, you can’t speak of a messed up start to the season, especially since we have many newcomers who first have to acclimatize But football is very fast-moving, a lot can happen at any time.
“Our new coach has made a very good impression, we have a great squad. I think we are in for a good time.”
Many Chelsea fans will surely agree that the sacking of Tuchel came as a surprise, and some may well still be questioning if it was the right move at all.
Potter did well at Brighton, but lacks Tuchel’s experience and proven track record at the very highest level, so may find this a bit too much of a step up.