Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has defended his choice to leave Tammy Abraham out and explains that it is illogical to play someone based on their previous achievements for the club.
The England striker is the club’s top scorer in this campaign with 12 goals, but has spent much of Tuchel’s time on the sidelines with an ankle injury. The 23-year-old has managed just 123 minutes of Premier League football since the Germans’ arrival in January and has done so once – in a 1-0 FA victory against Barnsley.
Thomas Tuchel with Tammy Abraham after the Englishman scored against Barnsley | DAVE THOMPSON / Getty Images
Abraham was left on the bench in Chelsea’s Champions League victory this week in Porto, and has even struggled to get on the replacement list at all on a number of occasions recently. But despite the Blues’ somewhat weak performances sometimes peaking, the Guardian reports that Tuchel claims that he did the right thing by leaving Abraham out of the squad.
“I do not think he is the top scorer since I came,” said Tuchel. “I can only judge what I see. I saw a guy who is confident, who has a lot of talent. But it can not be so in a period with such good results that suddenly it is the guys who do not play the winners.
“This is not logical for me. He was not available for a few weeks, so is it time to do crazy things and try things? If you just look at the data, you will say, ‘OK, he’s a top scorer. ” If you look at the data because we’re here, it might tell a different story. ”
The German also added that he is not in the job of fulfilling individual players’ goals on the international stage.
Thomas Tuchel has lost only once since taking over Chelsea | Michael Steele / Getty Images
“I can not make my decisions based on my players’ personal goals,” he said. “Kepa [Arrizabalaga] also has the personal goal of accompanying Spain. It’s good that they have these goals but it never affects my decisions. I’m the coach for Chelsea and I have to do what’s good for us.
Abraham’s lack of playing time has put his place in England’s EURO 2020 team in serious doubt, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Ollie Watkins and Patrick Bamford all able to be included alongside Harry Kane.
And as a result, the Chelsea striker’s future is uncertain, with a summer move on the cards.
