Aston Villa head coach Unai Emery has backed Graham Potter for long-term success at Chelsea and says there are already signs of progress at Stamford Bridge.
Potter succeeded Tuchel in the Chelsea dugout in early September, but his future was called into question following a run one win in 11 games to begin the year.
However, the former Brighton and Hove Albion boss has slowly turned things around, with Chelsea entering the international break on a run of three wins and a draw.
Villa boss Emery, who lasted 18 months at Arsenal before being sacked in November 2019, believes Potter fully deserves his chance to shine at a big club.
"He did amazing at Brighton and needs time to adapt his ideas at Chelsea," Emery said at Thursday's pre-match press conference. "Progressively, they're doing better and better.
"Tuchel's work was also amazing, but what Potter did with Brighton was really amazing and he deserved to take a step up with a team like Chelsea.
"They're now progressing. Everything he previously did with Brighton he can do as well with Chelsea. He just needs time.
"They have played well in the Champions League but have not been as consistent in the Premier League.
"But we know on Saturday we're playing one of the best teams in the Premier League. It's a good challenge for us and this is why I'm in the Premier League."
Villa have taken 10 points from their past 12 available, leaving them level on points with 10th-placed opponents Chelsea, and Emery is now targeting a top-half finish.
"When I arrived we were struggling at the bottom but the first reaction from the club, supporters, players, was amazing," Emery said. "Now we have escaped the bottom positions.
"Now we can think of our new challenge, which is to be in the top 10. This will start this Saturday. We think we have a good possibility to be there.
"The last four matches we played, scoring seven goals and conceding only one, winning three matches and drawing one, it was a very good moment for us."
Conor Coady returns to Wolves as Everton pass up option on permanent deal
Conor Coady has left Everton and returned to Wolves following his loan spell, with the Toffees having passed up an option to sign the defender on a permanent basis.
The Goodison Park club have also announced that former Wolves defender Ruben Vinagre will return to Sporting Lisbon after an injury-impacted loan spell on Merseyside.
Coady made 25 appearances for Everton this season, including a start in Sunday’s vital 1-0 win over Bournemouth which secured safety, and scored two goals.
Coady, capped 10 times by England, joined the Toffees last August in a deal which included an option to buy, but that option has now expired.
Vinagre made only four appearances in all competitions.
Everton director of football Kevin Thelwell said: “We want to sincerely thank Conor and Ruben for their impeccable professionalism and valuable contributions both on and off the pitch during their time with the club.
“We wish both players the best in their futures.”
Football rumours: Magpies hope new deal prevents Bruno Guimaraes flying the nest
The in-demand Bruno Guimaraes looks set to stay at Newcastle after the club reportedly offered him £200,000 a week to stay at the club in an effort to see off advances from Liverpool, Real Madrid and Barcelona, the Sun said.
If the 25-year-old midfielder agrees to the terms it would make him the highest paid player at the club.
The Daily Mail said Portuguese forward Joao Felix has been offered to Newcastle on a loan deal after Chelsea opted not to sign the forward on a permanent transfer from Atletico Madrid.
Harry Kane has expressed his desire to stay in England and move to Manchester United this summer rather than a move overseas, with the Sun claiming he is willing to see out his contract and leave Tottenham as a free agent next year if his transfer is blocked.
Tottenham are reportedly increasing their interest in Celtic’s Australian manager Ange Postecoglou, according to the Daily Mail.
The Telegraph says Sam Allardyce’s short stint at Leeds is set to come to an end on Thursday as the veteran manager is set to meet with the club’s senior figures.
Social media round-upPlayers to watchBenjamin Pavard: The 27-year-old French defender does not want to renew his contract at Bayern Munich in 2024 with Manchester United, Inter Milan and Barcelona all interested in his signature, according to French outlet L’Equipe.
Kalidou Koulibaly: Chelsea are reportedly looking to sell the Senegalese defender over the summer, the Evening Standard said. Chelsea signed him from Serie A team Napoli last year for around £33million.
Sarina Wiegman frustrated over timing of players being released for World Cup
Sarina Wiegman has expressed her frustration over the uncertainty surrounding England’s World Cup preparations as talks continue regarding the timing of players being released for duty ahead of the tournament.
The showpiece in Australia and New Zealand gets under way on July 20, and in mid-May, the European Club Association and FIFA announced they had reached an agreement establishing a non-mandatory release period of June 23-29.
The ECA and FIFA said that timeframe, to act as a guideline for clubs and national associations with exact dates to be agreed between them, “strikes the all-important balance between players having sufficient rest while allowing adequate time to prepare for the World Cup”.
The plan for England had been to start a pre-tournament camp on June 19, and boss Wiegman, who named her 23-player squad for the World Cup on Wednesday, said: “Of course that’s frustrating because we have all our plans, we thought we were all set and then like a month ago, all of a sudden, things change.
“We didn’t expect that, and it’s so late. I do understand, it’s about the calendar. It’s really hard. It’s about players having rest. We have to collaborate and talk to each other to try to solve that.
“But now in a short time like this, we’re all set and a month before we start, it all changes. That’s frustrating and it’s hard too because I think this is not the time to do this. It’s the time to do that later and solve it after this tournament.”
Wiegman was asked specifically about midfielder Georgia Stanway, who plays for Bayern Munich, and said: “I still hope we negotiate. At this point it’s hard but we’re trying to get the conversation going again.”
The Dutchwoman said the June 19 plan had been in place since last November, adding: “When we came to these plans, of course we have our principles, the knowledge, the expertise and experience, so we made the plan starting the 19th (of June).
“We spoke about that with the captains’ group, then with the players. We are in contact with clubs now and it’s very constructive but it’s not finalised yet.
“When you go to a World Cup, it’s the highest level, the most density, volume, so you have to be at your highest level.
“We also know that if you have more than two weeks’ rest, which if you would start later on you would have 26 days of no football, that’s not good for the preparation for the players, for the welfare of players that wouldn’t be good. So that’s why we want to start on June 19.
“It’s not only the physiology, it’s also the decision-making in football and getting really ready to start when we start on the 22nd (of July v Haiti).
“And knowing we’re going to the other side of the world, that takes a couple of days too. It’s two days of travelling, you can’t start training straight away because we first have to beat the jet-lag, so we really need that time to get prepared, so I just hope that we keep going with the good conversations and we can solve this.”
England are due to fly to Australia on July 5, and Wiegman also said regarding a warm-up fixture prior to that date: “The reason why we can’t tell you anything about that has to do with when we can start.
“If we start on June 19 we have enough days to get ready for such a game, but if we start later then you have too short a time to get ready for a fixture.”
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