The 5 Worst Signings Thomas Tuchel Made at Chelsea

When we hear the name Thomas Tuchel, the first things that probably come to mind are a coach with exceptional tactical knowledge, a manager who knows exactly how to win important matches, and a coach who is extremely good at creating game plans for individual matches.

Tuchel has managed clubs such as Mainz, Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea, and Bayern Munich, winning numerous trophies and achieving a great deal of success throughout his career. At the moment, he is serving as the head coach of the England national team.

Although Tuchel is highly regarded for his approach to individual matches and his tactical ideas, he has also been a manager who has made quite a few mistakes when it comes to signing players.

After winning the Champions League with Chelsea, Tuchel wanted to strengthen the squad significantly in order to challenge for the Premier League title in the following season. Chelsea therefore made several major signings during his time at the club.

Today, we are going to take a look at the five worst signings Thomas Tuchel made during his time as Chelsea manager.

1. Romelu Lukaku

Tuchel was very keen on bringing Romelu Lukaku back to Chelsea to solve the club's need for a reliable striker.

Chelsea paid around €113 million to bring Lukaku back to Stamford Bridge, but the Belgian striker failed to produce performances that justified such a huge transfer fee.

Lukaku's second spell at his former club initially looked promising, but after the opening few matches, his performances became increasingly disappointing.

This ultimately became both the most expensive signing of Tuchel's managerial career and one of his worst signings.

2. Wesley Fofana

Tuchel signed Wesley Fofana from Leicester City for around €83 million to strengthen Chelsea's defence.

Chelsea paid a huge amount for the centre-back and had high expectations of him, but things did not turn out the way Tuchel had hoped.

Not long after joining Chelsea, Fofana began suffering from repeated injury problems. As a result, the number of matches he missed was often greater than the number of games he was able to play.

During his first three seasons at Chelsea, Fofana was available for only around 20.5% of the total competitive minutes, with injuries keeping him out for much of the remaining time.

3. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

Tuchel once again looked to strengthen his attack by bringing in Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Aubameyang had been an excellent striker who was known for regularly scoring goals. However, he struggled considerably during his time at Chelsea.

He made 21 appearances for Chelsea and scored only 3 goals, with the best form of his career seemingly disappearing during his spell at Stamford Bridge.

He eventually left Chelsea and moved to Marseille.

4. Saúl Ñíguez

For the midfield, Tuchel brought in Atlético Madrid midfielder Saúl Ñíguez to Stamford Bridge.

However, Saúl struggled to adapt to the style and intensity of the Premier League. He did not receive enough playing time at Chelsea, and when his loan spell ended, he returned to Atlético Madrid.

Saúl made only 6 appearances for Chelsea and failed to register a single goal or assist.

5. Denis Zakaria

Denis Zakaria was another player who joined Chelsea on loan and failed to establish himself in the team.

Zakaria arrived at Chelsea from Juventus but was given very limited opportunities to play. In total, he made only 7 appearances for the club.

When his loan spell came to an end, he returned to Juventus.

And there you have it — the five worst signings made by Thomas Tuchel during his time as Chelsea manager, players who ultimately failed to fit into the team and did not live up to expectations.

Thank you very much to everyone who stayed until the end and watched this video.