Thomas Tuchel has been confirmed as Chelsea manager replacing Frank Lampard who was sacked on Monday.
Tuchel, the first German to manage Chelsea has signed an 18-month contract with the possibility of an extension, the club said on Tuesday.
Lampard was dismissed after a dismal run of form that left the Blues ninth in the Premier League table and 11 points off leaders Manchester United.
Tuchel, who had been out of work for one month after being axed by Paris Saint-Germain, will be tasked with getting an immediate response out of squad and plotting their way back into title contention starting with Wednesday’s home encounter with Wolves.
He will take his first training session on Tuesday evening and will be in the dugout for the game against Wolves.
Tuchel paid tribute to predecessor Lampard, saying: ”I would like to thank Chelsea for their confidence in me and my staff.
‘’We all have the greatest respect for Frank Lampard’s work and the legacy he created at Chelsea. At the same time, I cannot wait to meet my new team and compete in the most exciting league in football.
”I am grateful to now be part of the Chelsea family – it feels amazing!”
Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia added: ‘It is never easy to change Head Coach in the middle of the season but we are very happy to secure one of Europe’s best coaches in Thomas Tuchel. There is still much to play for and much to achieve, this season and beyond. We welcome Thomas to the Club”.
The 47-year-old’s credentials were enhanced significantly last summer when he guided PSG to the Champions League final, where they were narrowly beaten by Bayern Munich.
Tuchel becomes the 13th permanent manager of Abramovich’s tenure after Claudio Ranieri, Jose Mourinho, Avram Grant, Felipe Scolari, Guus Hiddink, Carlo Ancelotti, Andre Villas-Boas, Roberto Di Matteo, Rafa Benitez, Antonio Conte, Maurizio Sarri and Lampard.
Tuchel first gained attention in the 2010-11 campaign when he led Mainz, usually a mid-ranking club in Germany, to the Europa League.
He went on to bigger jobs at Borussia Dortmund — where he succeeded Jurgen Klopp in 2015 and won the German Cup — and then at PSG, where Tuchel claimed four major trophies and reached the Champions League final last season.
Tuchel will be familiar with many players in the Chelsea dressing room with Thiago Silva a key man for Tuchel’s PSG.
One of Tuchel’s key objectives will be to revive the form of both Timo Werner and Kai Havertz.
Werner, who arrived from RB Leipzig, and Havertz, who signed from Bayer Leverkusen, joined for a combined £125m and yet have failed to kickstart their careers in the Premier League.
It is hoped that Tuchel, as a German speaker, can coax the form out of the pair that saw Chelsea spend so heavily to get them.
