Former Paris Saint-Germain manager Thomas Tuchel is unlikely to be one of the main contenders to replace Frank Lampard as Chelsea boss, with the club having been warned off the German previously.
The west London club are in the middle of a poor run of form that has seen them lose four of their last six Premier League matches, slipping down to 8th place in the table.
Chelsea’s bad results – coupled with their lethargic displays, particularly their first-half showing against Manchester City on Sunday – have seen the pressure ramp up on Lampard, with his position believed to be ‘under serious threat’.
A shortlist of potential replacements has already started to emerge which includes Tuchel, former Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri and former Chelsea striker Andriy Shevchenko, who has managed the Ukraine national team since 2016.
But now The Telegraph have suggested Tuchel will not be among the frontrunners should Lampard’s position become untenable, with the club having rejected him in the past.
Back in the summer of 2017, when Chelsea were first considering getting rid of Antonio Conte, Tuchel was put forward as a potential successor to the fiery Italian.
Conte had repeatedly clashed with Chelsea’s board over transfers and the club’s hierarchy were warned that Tuchel was similarly volatile, rowing with both his players and employers at Dortmund and Mainz.
Tuchel continued in much the same fashion at PSG despite winning plenty of silverware and Chelsea’s decision makers are very reluctant to go back down the route of having a confrontational, outspoken manager constantly sparring with them.
Lampard, by contrast, has a good relationship with director Marina Granovskaia and owner Roman Abramovich, which owes much to his time at the club as a player, but he has also united the club on several different levels since his appointment.
There is still a willingness to give Lampard time to turn things around, starting against Morecambe in the FA Cup, though the next three league games – against Fulham, Leicester and Wolves – could be decisive in determining his future.
