(Reuters) – A deal may be in place for the takeover of Chelsea but the situation at the Premier League club’s training ground remains difficult, manager Thomas Tuchel said on Tuesday.
Chelsea confirmed last week that terms have been agreed with a consortium led by Los Angeles Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly and backed by Clearlake Capital over the 4.25 billion pound ($5.24 billion) acquisition of the London club.
Since the international break Tuchel has repeatedly said the takeover has been a distraction, with the club eliminated from the Champions League and being sucked into a battle for third place in the Premier League.
“It’s a situation that is unique, it’s quite challenging and we want the situation to be clarified. We’re waiting for a long time because we need the positive energy and competitive atmosphere as a club,” Tuchel told reporters.
“That’s why it’s very important that things progress. We did excellent until the international break, it had no effect in terms of results… We felt very strong during the difficulties when sanctions were in place.
“Then we had two weeks when the players weren’t here, different influences and more thoughts about the situation in general. The guys want to know what’s going on next season. Every day it gets more difficult.”
The sanctions did not allow Chelsea to renew player contracts, with key defender Antonio Rudiger set to leave, and Tuchel said that had caused distractions.
“You can always end up in a situation when players, at the end of the season, talk to other clubs and get distracted. It happens,” Tuchel added.
“It’s a bit easier if you are free to act and be more involved in the talks. Right now we feel more like spectators.”
Chelsea, who travel to relegation-threatened Leeds United on Wednesday, are third with 67 points — a point above Arsenal after Wolverhampton Wanderers snatched a draw in injury time over the weekend.
Chelsea have won only one of their last five league games and Tuchel said he was annoyed by the number of draws.
“If you look at our results throughout the season, we have a decent amount of wins and not a very high amount of losses. But we have way too many draws, a lot of draws when we were leading,” Tuchel said.
($1 = 0.8110 pounds)
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; editing by Martyn Herman)
