Thomas Tuchel warning that cannot be ignored as Kevin De Bruyne agrees with Chelsea head coach

Throughout his Chelsea tenure, Thomas Tuchel has always played it straight with the media. Of course, he will protect his players when required and not reveal every detail of the day-to-day happenings at Cobham, but when a subject is broached in a press conference, the German never shies away from giving an honest answer.

That approach served the Chelsea head coach incredibly well during the latter half of the season in which the club was put up for sale by Roman Abramovich and forced to operate under the strict sanctions imposed upon the Russian oligarch by the UK government and EU.

Tuchel became a statesman-like figure, a trusted, empathic and reassuring voice amid the chaos. It won him the hearts of many Chelsea supporters and strengthened his position at the club to such an extent the new ownership group led by Todd Boehly views the 48-year-old as an indispensable figure.

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So when Tuchel talks, it is worth listening. And that brings us back to comments made by the 48-year-old back in October. The discussion point that day was the football calendar and the increasing demands placed upon top players. The German's position was clear.

“I think there are too many games and too many competitions for the top players in the clubs,” Tuchel said. “The game is for the players and for the spectators – and the spectators want to have the top players on the pitch. They want them fit, healthy, hungry and you cannot always provide it if you play so many games in so many different competitions.”

Tuchel's viewpoint was almost certainly reinforced by what happened at Chelsea over the remainder of the campaign. In December, injuries and a