📣 Tuchel on squad updates, Lukaku's struggles, Dembélé and facing Spurs | OneFootball

Thomas Tuchel addressed the media on Friday ahead of the club’s upcoming clash against Tottenham. Here is what he had to say.

On squad updates

“We have a timeframe [for Reece James] but we will not make it public. He is back on the pitch so good news but it is individual training.

“Trevoh Chalobah is back in team training but it is way too early to play on Sunday. Nobody is coming back.

“Andreas Christensen is not with the team yet, we hope he will be back in training next week.”

On Romelu Lukaku’s struggles

“We are in the spotlight, we are judged, all of us. That’s daily business. If you are the decisive player, people talk about you. If not, the same people talk about you.

“I don’t know if I can explain it [lack of touches]. It is very rare in football you have a situation or a problem and there is only one solution. It can be a mix of a lot of influences

“In the moment he struggles, we talked about it. [But] he’s not the only one we rely on to win.”

On Ousmane Dembélé

“He is a very good player at his top level. I am very fortunate to have trained him at Dortmund. It was only one year, it should have been longer.

“From there we are not in close contact, we have met here and there with his duties for the French team and [when] I was in Paris. He is in a situation I have no idea why, what it is in detail. I know how I feel about it when it is my players so it is better not to talk.”

On latest blips

“After the loss against Manchester City and the gap opened up, playing two days later on a Tuesday again, I could see and feel from myself and the team, some emotions took over, maybe frustration, disappointment and whatever.

“It was hard for us to reach our top level on this particular day. We did not expect in general that we would play an exciting match as [Brighton] is a strong opponent. It was the very first time so when it happens, we should not make a big deal out of it.”

On Antonio Rüdiger’s contract

“You know how I was full of praise for him, how important he is, I have said many times. Talks and negotiations are ongoing.”

On facing Tottenham

“It’s strange to look at the table and see a team [like Tottenham] who have played four games less. It can lead you to think the gap is bigger than it is.

“This can lead to a wrong impression of being comfortably ahead which we are not. They know what we do, we know what we do. We managed to beat them twice, we will do everything to beat them again.

“It is not about having whatever advantages. If we are philosophical about it, we need to have the right attitude to deliver a top performance.”