Joe Cole
Joe Cole has heaped praise on Chelsea manager, Thomas Tuchel, for his dignified handling of a turbulent time at Stamford Bridge. The German has fronted up and answered difficult questions while others at Stamford Bridge refuse to put their head above the parapet.
Owner Roman Abramovich has been sanctioned by the government for his ties to Vladimir Putin and all of his assets frozen amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Russian is looking to complete a swift sale of the club in what is a concerning time for staff and fans.
But Tuchel has managed to steer the ship through choppy waters admirably and led Chelsea into the Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday evening. A 2-1 win over Lille away from home secured a 3-1 aggregate score line, and Cole was full of praise for Tuchel.
He told BT Sport: “Going back to Tuchel’s leadership, we’ve been through such turbulent times and we’ve seen such poor examples of leadership throughout our society.
“Then you see a football manager stepping up like that, talking like that, doing that and it is just a breath of fresh air. He should be Prime Minister.”
A number of prospective buyers are forming their bids to buy Chelsea, with both Abramovich and the government chasing a swift resolution.
Former Chelsea player and manager, Gianluca Vialli, has confirmed he is working with British property developer Nick Candy in his bid to buy the club.
American tycoon Ken Griffin and the Ricketts family, are understood to be readying a huge bid – with Griffin alone having a fortune worth around £20billion ($26.5bn).