Thomas Tuchel reveals he misses Petr Cech after Chelsea departure

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has revealed they ‘miss’ Petr Cech after his departure from the club earlier this summer.

Club legend Cech spent 11 seasons at the Blues as a player, making 494 appearances in all competitions for the west London side.

He kept 228 clean sheets during that time and won a multitude of honours, including the Premier League, the Champions League and the FA Cup.

Cech then departed the club in 2015 to join Arsenal, with his final ever professional appearance coming in the Europa League final in 2019 against his former side.

The former Czech Republic international then returned to Chelsea as their technical and performance advisor shortly after the European clash, spending three seasons back at Stamford Bridge.

It was revealed earlier this summer that the 40-year-old would leave the club amid the takeover by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital.

Tuchel spoke on the legend’s exit during his pre-match press conference for the clash against London rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

He said: “We miss him a lot. 

“I saw him in the last days and he knows from me directly that we miss him a lot. I know a lot of people miss him a lot. He was on a daily basis here in the training centre and he was the person who lived the values and attitude of what it takes to be a top competitor for Chelsea day by day.

“Was very impressive, a huge help for me and enormous support I never experienced before in this kind of honesty. 

“Maybe this is his key quality. In all his effort he is humble and super honest. Was a fantastic relationship but we have to respect his decision. 

“Maybe now we need to sort things out, everything is new, the line of communication is new, everybody needs to step up in the staff, not only me, in responsibility. There we go.”

Petr Cech in the stands at Stamford Bridge. (Alamy)

So far this summer, Chelsea have welcomed the likes of Raheem Sterling, Kalidou Koulibaly and Marc Cucurella to the club, with more signings set to arrive before the end of the window.

Barcelona duo Frenkie de Jong and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang have both emerged as targets alongside Wesley Fofana, with the Blues now agreeing personal terms with the Frenchman.

Tuchel spoke of their confidence of further additions when he said: “It is what it is. We will not panic and we will not do things, we will not try to sign players which we are not 100 per cent convinced.

“All signings so far are fantastic signings that help us. To be very honest it is day by day business now to coach the team which is here and not lose your head as a coach about what could be.

“What sense does it make if I lose my head in the office and think about players that are not here? We are ambitious and work hard to strengthen our squad further but we are calm, all the energy and ambition goes into the group that is here. 

“We still have time. Maybe I can answer that question more precisely in September.”