5 best midfielders to have played under Thomas Tuchel

#3 Jorginho

Brentford v Chelsea - Carabao Cup Quarter Final

2020 was Jorginho's year. He had grown to become a divisive figure at Chelsea under Frank Lampard. But it's under Thomas Tuchel that supporters and pundits truly realized just how good Jorginho is at the center of the park.

The Italian international was Chelsea's midfield metronome as they won the Champions League. He was simply a class apart and despite the frail frame that's not suited for a Premier League defensive midfielder, Jorginho came up trumps on a consistent basis.

He keeps things ticking for Chelsea in midfield and is a wonderful passer of the ball. In addition to that, Jorginho possesses a great reading of the game, is tactically intelligent and excellent at making recoveries and interceptions.

If it boils down to sheer efficiency, Jorginho has to be up there with the very best midfielders on the planet.

#2 Marco Verratti

Italy Official Team Photo

If not for his injury history, Marco Verratti could have easily gone on to become the greatest midfielder of his generation. The Italian international has been likened to the likes of Xavi and Andres Iniesta and has a skillset that's almost identical to the legendary Spaniards.

Verratti is excellent at dictating the tempo of the game. He played a little more than two seasons under Tuchel at Paris Saint-Germain. Verratti was part of the team that made it to the final of the 2019-20 Champions League.

He won two Ligue 1 titles and two Coupe de France titles under Thomas Tuchel. In 88 appearances across all competitions under Tuchel, Verratti scored one goal and provided 10 assists.

#1 N'Golo Kante

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Chelsea - Premier League

Under Maurizio Sarri and Frank Lampard, N'Golo Kante played an advanced role in midfield. While he was orderly about the way he went about things, he did not have as much impact as he had in his first couple of seasons at Chelsea.

Once Tuchel came in, Kante immediately got back to his best. The Frenchman's relentless running and tenacity made him the perfect foil for Jorginho in defensive midfield. Kante excelled as a box-to-box midfielder under the new manager.

He picked up four man-of-the-match awards in the knockout stages of the 2020-21 Champions League and was also the player of the match in the final. He was excellent at making interceptions, tackles and recoveries.

Kante also bombed forward every time he got on the ball and his passing and link-up play improved as well. It would have been extremely difficult for Chelsea to win the Champions League last term without Kante. It was his disruptive qualities in midfield that made the Blues a difficult team to play against.