EPL: Chelsea players free to go, Tuchel harbours no hard feelings

Chelsea manager, Thomas Tuchel, has revealed he understands why players may want to leave the club prior to close of the transfer window.

A number of players, including Callum Hudson-Odoi and Christian Pulisic, have been linked with exits from Stamford Bridge.

“They’re human, it’s a transfer window and they’re not only with us in Cobham,” Tuchel said at his pre-match press conference ahead of Wednesday’s clash with Southampton.

“Once they leave the building, they have their phones on and they will get calls and think about their future and their next step. There is a World Cup coming which everybody talks about and thinks about.

“I have accepted it is like this, and from the second of September there are no more excuses and no more distractions.

“We will have different leverage to push players and the commitment will have to be there 100 per cent. We will not accept 99, but the reality is in the last days of the transfer window you have to accept it, no matter what you wish for.”