Tuchel: Takeover talk has been a distraction for players

Thomas Tuchel admits the ongoing sale of Chelsea has been a factor in his side's poor Premier League form.

Todd Boehly will become Chelsea's controlling owner when the US magnate's consortium completes the £4.25billion Stamford Bridge club purchase. Eldridge Industries founder and Los Angeles Dodgers co-owner Boehly will hold the most influence in the consortium that will buy Chelsea from Roman Abramovich.

Clearlake Capital co-founder Behdad Eghbali will work closely with Boehly and will be understood to take an active role in major financial decisions. California-based Clearlake is expected to take on the majority shareholding in the Boehly consortium.

Chelsea let a two-goal lead slip during Saturday's 2-2 draw with Wolves and still require four more points to be assured of Champions League football in their remaining three games - starting at Leeds on Wednesday, live on Sky Sports.

When asked if the ongoing takeover process has been a distraction for the playing and coaching staff, Chelsea head coach Tuchel said: "It has for sure, I don't think there's any sense in hiding from the fact that it is a distraction. It's a question of to which level we can still live up to even if we are distracted, worried or disadvantaged by it.

"We did excellent until the international break and it had no effect in terms of results - in fact, it had almost the opposite effect on the results. We felt very strong during the difficulties and during the announcement of the sanctions in place.

"But then something very human and normal took place with the players not here [during the March internationals]. There were also different influences to them, maybe more thoughts about the situation in general and now the situation has been very long.