“Yes, it has to" - Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel reveals his stance on signing unvaccinated players 

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has admitted that he may need to consider a player's vaccination status before signing them in the future.

According to The Sun, Blues midfielders N'Golo Kante and Ruben Loftus-Cheek were unable to join their teammates on their pre-season tour of the USA because of their Covid-19 vaccination status.

The pair have been forced to stay at the club's Cobham training complex. Kante's absence is a particular blow as he missed large parts of last season due to injury problems.

Tuchel was asked specifically if a player's Covid vaccination status would affect his decision to sign a player, to which the German boss replied (as quoted by The Sun):

“Yes, it has to. I knew some players who I’d also take without vaccination. I have to say. But yes, it is a part of daily life at the moment.

“We cannot force it. It is at the moment a very normal decision to get vaccinated. Both players took the decision not to. We need to follow the rules. They cannot join us. They know about the consequences."

He concluded:

“We don’t like it. Of course not. We would love to have them here and it’s not an ideal solution.Far from ideal. But, once the situation is like this you need to come up with a solution. So, they have their coaches there. But it’ll not compensate. It will not be the same."

---

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel discusses N'Golo Kante's return to fitness

The French international has become one of world football's leading defensive midfielders in recent years, although he has been heavily linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge this summer.

Numerous injury problems led the World Cup winner to miss several of Chelsea's biggest games last season and he only has a year left on his contract.

While discussing Kante's absence from the US tour, Tuchel chose to discuss the positives in him staying in London, as he proclaimed:

“For N’Golo it is maybe not even the worst thing to do. We can give him a very individual load. A very, very individualised load for him. So maybe we can turn a disadvantage into an advantage.

“I don’t think he in particular needs a long time to adapt to our game because N’Golo is N’Golo. Everybody is aware that he is a key player and needs to be a key player if you want to win big stuff.”