Thomas Tuchel proved right with Kylian Mbappe example as Chelsea use lesson with Anthony Gordon
Thomas Tuchel doesn't have too much to prove at Chelsea. After turning a side stuck in ninth into Champions League winners he has made his point. The next stage of his trick is the hardest one, the prestige. He must now show that he can do something extraordinary over a long period of time.
The place that the German manager has looked to start this process is in defence, first focusing on building up his backline once more before venturing forward to the midfield and attack, and that is where the questions lay. Just as his defence became his go to matchwinner on the road to European glory, the attack must be the thing to highlight why Chelsea can become serious title challengers, or at very least close the gap.
The steps to this have started, Raheem Sterling is in the building, Armando Broja is back from loan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is a deal that understands Chelsea are confident will get done. More will follow, but it's not the individual names that wins Tuchel matches over his managerial career.
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The German is a man that has worked his best when looking for strong team links to build-up play. Not limiting creativity, but with devout principles and a desired path for his team to take. That was how previously outcasts Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen became the centre of one of the best defences in the country.
So far the star names, coming from Roman Abramovich's transfer strategy which focused less on the sum of the parts and more on the shiny units used, haven't worked for Tuchel and all of his best performers have been players that thrive off the system rather than making it their own. It's something that