Thomas Tuchel knows Andreas Christensen could be on his way out of Chelsea in light of reports he is set to sign for Barcelona.
Tuchel conceded that Christensen may have already decided to leave the European and world champions for pastures new at the end of this season, but made clear he wants the 25-year-old centre-back to stay.
Reports on Wednesday suggested the Denmark defender is on the verge of agreeing terms with Barca.
Speaking at a media conference ahead of the Blues' Premier League fixture at Norwich City on Thursday, Tuchel said when asked about Christensen's future: "It's in doubt, no?
"We hear the rumours and the situation with Andreas has clear for many weeks and we are not happy about it, because we think that it's best for him to stay and we rely heavily on him.
"He did not sign yet, so you cannot not communicate. This is also a signal to us and communication from his side is that he did not sign until now, so we have to consider the possibility that he leaves us.
"Will we like it? No. Will we live with it? Yes. Things are not personal [and] never should be personal, but this can happen and I have no further information."
Tuchel also confirmed Reece James is a doubt for the trip to Carrow Road after suffering a muscle injury in the 4-0 win at Burnley on Saturday.
The England right-back recently returned from injury and registered a goal and an assist at Turf Moor before being replaced by Mateo Kovacic in the 70th minute.
"Reece James has a bit of a muscular problem after his last three matches," Tuchel said. "Not in his injured leg, the other leg. We thought he could be on the [training] pitch today but he couldn't so we need further examinations to see what is going on.
"He felt it during the match so that's why we took him out and it didn't get better. It's obvious what he can give to our team, so not good news at the moment."
Tuchel is proud of the manner in which his players have gone about their business amid uncertainty at Stamford Bridge following Roman Abramovich's decision to sell the club.
"To have clarity is always better than to have uncertainty, but I have to say we produced performances and we produced results in times of global uncertainty and also club-wise uncertainties, that makes us proud," he said.
"It shows we can trust in ourselves and gives us a lot of trust in the culture of the club and here at Cobham. At the moment I have absolutely no more information than you have [on the sale], for sure."
Raphinha hails Barcelona after statement win over Valladolid
Barcelona forward Raphinha believes the team have laid down a statement of their intent by starting the season with four straight wins in LaLiga.
Raphinha scored the first hat-trick of his career and also delivered two assists on Saturday, as Barca crushed Real Valladolid 7-0 at Camp Nou.
Hansi Flick's side already possess a four-point cushion at the top of the table after also recording victories over Valencia, Athletic Bilbao and Rayo Vallecano.
Raphinha believes their results have demonstrated the club got things right in the transfer market, telling Movistar: "Today's game has shown that there is no need for anyone else to come. We are very happy because of that.
"We are in very good shape. The team is working hard. Today's result shows what we are working for.
"We saw that the coach was on the sidelines asking for more goals and that's our mentality.
"We are hungry and want to score as many goals as we can. When we are dominant like we have been, the best way to respect our rivals is not taking the foot off the gas."
Raphinha was one of the players who faced criticism during Barca's trophyless 2023-24 campaign and was rumoured to be on his way out ahead of the new season.
The Blaugrana again battled financial restrictions throughout the window, allowing Ilkay Gundogan to leave in order to secure the registration of new arrival Dani Olmo.
With his future now certain, Raphinha is keen to nail down a starting spot and contribute on a regular basis.
"I don't know if today's was my best game, but it's certainly among my best. I will try to play even better and as much as I can," the Brazilian said.
"I'm very happy to be able to help the team. I feel good. I knew that this season would be very important for me. I'm looking for my best version to help my team-mates and be more confident."
Barcelona 7-0 Real Valladolid: Raphinha hat-trick helps hosts to emphatic triumph
Raphinha's first career hat-trick helped Barcelona remain perfect in LaLiga as they thumped Real Valladolid 7-0 at Camp Nou.
A commanding display saw Barcelona enter the international break top of the table as Hansi Flick became the first head coach of the club to win each of his first four league games in charge since 2017-18.
Brazilian Raphinha opened the scoring with 20 minutes on the clock, beating Karl Hein with a deft finish after being picked out by Pau Cubarsi.
The hosts entered the interval with a three-goal advantage as Robert Lewandowski struck his fourth of the season before Jules Kounde picked out the top corner in the second minute of added time.
Raphinha grabbed his second of the game just after the hour, completing his maiden treble eight minutes later with another fine finish.
Dani Olmo later marked his home debut with his second goal in as many games for his new club, with Raphinha then turning provider for Ferran Torres to complete the emphatic display.
Data Debrief: Seventh heaven for Barcelona
Raphinha's treble was the first of his career across Europe's top five leagues, scoring two goals for the second time for Barcelona, having done so in April 2024 against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.
Lamine Yamal, meanwhile, has now been involved in 14 goals in 42 appearances in LaLiga (six goals and eight assists), the most by a player before turning 18 in the competition in the 21st century, surpassing Bojan Krkic (13 - 10 goals and three assists).
It also marked Barcelona's biggest win in a LaLiga match since since April 2016 against Deportivo La Coruna at Riazor (8-0) and their biggest home win in the competition since March 2014 against Osasuna (also 7-0).
Brentford 3-1 Southampton: Bees begin life after Toney with comfortable win
Brentford began life without Ivan Toney with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Southampton.
Bryan Mbeumo’s brace and a Yoane Wissa goal proved to be the difference between the two sides and condemned the Saints to their third straight loss since promotion back to the Premier League.
With departed striker Toney watching in the stands after his move to Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, the hosts proved too strong for Russell Martin’s men. They created the superior chances and capitalised on an error-strewn performance from Southampton’s backline.
Mbeumo opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time before doubling the lead halfway through the second period and Wissa then got on the scoresheet moments later to continue Brentford’s strong start to the campaign. Yukinari Sugawara bagged a consolation in injury time for the Saints.
Brentford sit in fifth place ahead of the first international break, while Southampton are second-bottom of the league table with zero points.
Data debrief: Wissa continues to prove effective at home
Wissa now has five goals and two assists in his last seven matches at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Brentford have recorded consecutive home league wins for the first time since last November, and the first time in their opening home games since August 2018.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
