London, May 11 (BNA) Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel said that a deal may be in place to acquire Chelsea, but the situation at the team’s training ground is still difficult.
Chelsea confirmed last week that terms had been agreed with a consortium led by Los Angeles Dodgers part owner Todd Boehle and backed by Clearlake Capital over a 4.25 billion pound ($5.24 billion) takeover of the London club, Reuters reports.
Since the international break, Tuchel has repeatedly said the acquisition has been a distraction, as the club was eliminated from the Champions League and battled for third place in the Premier League.
“It’s a unique situation, it’s very difficult and we want to clarify the situation,” Tuchel told reporters. “We are waiting for a long time because we need positive energy and a competitive atmosphere as a club.”
“That’s why it’s so important that things move forward. We had an excellent performance until the international break, and it didn’t have any impact in terms of results… We felt very strong through the difficulties when sanctions were in place.
“Then we had two weeks when the players were not here, different influences and more ideas about the situation in general. The guys want to know what happens next season. Every day it becomes more difficult.”
Sanctions have not allowed Chelsea to renew players’ contracts, with key defender Antonio Rudiger set to leave, and Tuchel said that caused a distraction.
“You can always end up in a situation when, at the end of the season, players talk to other clubs and get distracted. It happens,” Tuchel added.
“It would be a little easier if you were free to act and be more involved in the conversations. Right now we feel like spectators.”
Chelsea, who travel to relegation-threatened Leeds United on Wednesday, are third on 67 points – one point behind Arsenal after Wolverhampton Wanderers snatched a tie in injury time at 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, you will find a good amount of wins and not a lot of losses. But we had a lot of draws, and a lot of draws when we were at the top,” Tuchel said.