Thomas Tuchel heaps praise on Ligue 1 superstar amid links to Chelsea

A Stamford Bridge Too Far

·24 February 2021

Thomas Tuchel heaps praise on Ligue 1 superstar amid links to Chelsea

Thomas Tuchel heaps praise on Kylian Mbappe amid links to Chelsea

According to BT Sport (h/t Football.london), Thomas Tuchel had a few glowing words for Kylian Mbappe who has been linked to Chelsea. The PSG star made headlines as he dispatched a hapless Barcelona side last week with a well-taken hat-trick.

Links to Chelsea were established following that performance. Tuchel has previously managed Mbappe at PSG and they reached the finals of the Champions League last season. It was easy to see why Mbappe was linked to the Blues given his association with Tuchel earlier.

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On being asked whether Mbappe can take the place of greats Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, Tuchel said that the youngster will have to make a place for himself among them.

“They will never side aside, never on free will. If he wants to be there, he has to push them aside. Scoring the hat-trick at Camp Nou is a message and it’s what he demands of himself. It’s his potential, it’s what he has in him.“He is still young, he is super hungry and he is a shark in his mentality. He wants to grab everything he can have. So, this is the mentality that you need, and I mean it in the most positive way because he is a super nice and intelligent guy, he is super funny.”

Tuchel also had an interesting analogy for Mbappe.

“But on the pitch, he is a shark and this is what these guys are like. If you drop one drop of blood in the water, they arrive and this is Kylian. If he wants to enter on the level of those guys, because they are years and years, they will not step aside, he has to take it and I think he has what he needs to take it.”

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While Chelsea may have been linked to the Paris star, it looks too long of a shot for them to actually go for him. A deal for Erling Haaland looks more likely come the end of the season.