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Former Blues assistant manager and player Gianfranco Zola has urged Chelsea supporters not to doubt Saul Niguez's quality.
The former forward is of the opinion that Saul Niguez, on loan from Atletico Madrid, is a top player and needs time to acclimatize to life at Chelsea:
“There is no doubt about the quality of this player. It is just about adapting to the pace of the Premier League. I saw the game [against Aston Villa] and sometimes he was a little bit too late in the decision making. In England you cannot do that, in Spain it’s a different story, you are allowed more time on the ball but here you need to think faster," Zola told Amazon Prime.
Thomas Tuchel handed the 27-year-old his fourth start at Watford since signing for Chelsea on a season-long loan this summer. Saul has started twice for Chelsea in the Carabao Cup and made limited substitute appearances against Malmo and Italian giants Juventus in the Champions League since his arrival.
The Blues have turned Stamford Bridge into a fortress in the Premier League, while remaining ruthless during away games. Chelsea currently lead a tight title race that sees Manchester City and Liverpool sitting one and two points behind respectively.
The side will make the trip to West Ham in their next Premier League game on Saturday after edging to a 2-1 victory over Watford on Wednesday night.
It was a tactical decision: Tuchel explains why he substituted Chelsea star at half time during Premier League clash
Since joining the Blues on loan at Stamford Bridge, Saul Niguez has struggled to find proper playing time. The star has been substituted twice at half-time, even though he has had just two Premier League starts for Chelsea this season.
Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel was quick to explain that the decision to substitute Niguez at half-time during the Premier League game against Watford was tactical:
“He was on a yellow card. We had two options, [the other was to] take Marcos [Alonso] off and put Saul as a wing-back. I had this in my mind before the game if something happened to Marcos, but it wasn’t the right match to try new positions," said the Chelsea boss.
“It was a tactical decision and we go on from here," insisted Tuchel.
