Ah, Chelsea FC. Those glorious boys in blue who can compound misery on their footballing foes without kicking a ball thanks to their unparalleled knack of recruiting sought-after talent at the expense of their rivals.
Not only have Chels snared sporting director Frank Arnesen and Willian from London rivals Spurs in the past, they also left Sir Alex Ferguson seething in 2005 when John Obi Mikel became a Blue despite already having signed on the dotted line for Manchester United. And now it seems it is Arsenal who are about to feel the full force of the big Blue machine.
Speaking on the Totally Football Show podcast, German football journalist Raphael Honigstein believes that the former Borussia Dortmund manager Thomas Tuchel — who was reported to have signed a deal with Arsenal only two days ago to become their next manager — is favourite to take over at Chelsea when Antonio Conte bids addio to life in London.
Honigstein told listeners: "[Tuchel] left a message with Bayern Munich saying 'Thanks for your interest, but I’m off. I’ve done a deal. I’ve promised someone that I’m going [to them].'"
When pressed by podcast host James Richardson who it could be that Tuchel has agreed to join, Honigstein added: "I have it on pretty good authority that Tuchel made a very good impression on [Chelsea director] Marina Granovskaia in a meeting they’ve had [but] I don’t know how recent that meeting was."
As the saying goes Arsenal: you snooze, you lose.
