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Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has insisted that the signing of Saúl Ñiguez was not insisted on him by the club.
The Spanish midfielder arrived on loan from Atlético Madrid on deadline day, but has barely featured for the West London side and endured a difficult debut, when he was subbed off at half-time against Aston Villa at half-time.
Prior to Wednesday night, his only other Premier League appearance came as an 88th minute substitute against Newcastle, whilst his two other starts have come in the Carabao Cup.
He was given a second chance in the league match against Watford but did nothing to press hs claims for more regular inclusion, with Tuchel again replacing him at half-time.
However, the German insist that the Spaniard was not foisted on him insisting “we do signings because we decide together because new believe it’s a good pick and a good addition to the squad, and this was exactly the same”.
It is now looking increasingly like that Saúl will be sent back to Madrid in January, having failed to adapt to life in the Premier League.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.