Thomas Tuchel would have no concerns about Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang s attitude but has refused to discuss the possibility of working with the Barcelona striker again at Chelsea.
The Blues have been linked with a move for Aubameyang after Tuchel acknowledged on Friday they could use new signings both in attack and defence.
Tuchel offered a firm no comment when asked about interest in either Aubameyang or Leicester City centre-back Wesley Fofana, but was willing to reflect on his work with the Barca front man while at Borussia Dortmund.
Aubameyang scored 56 Bundesliga goals in 63 games under Tuchel at BVB. Indeed, for no coach in the top five leagues has Aubameyang scored more goals, registered more goal contributions (63) or netted at a faster rate (94 minutes per goal).
Tuchel still enjoys a close bond with the reported Chelsea target, telling a news conference ahead of Sunday s game against Tottenham: I enjoyed a lot working with him. It was a pleasure.
This has nothing to do with the situation now, but some players stay your players, because you were very, very close. Auba was one of these players.
We had a very close relationship. Always when we played him here with Arsenal, there was always straight away this close bond. They stay your players, in a way, and Auba is one of these guys.
Merci, Auba!
— Borussia Dortmund (@BVB)
Mikel Arteta did not enjoy quite the same relationship with Aubameyang at Arsenal, with their fallout – which resulted in his January move to Barca – documented in Amazon s recent All or Nothing documentary series.
But Tuchel, quizzed on Aubameyang s toxic influence , said: I experienced none of this.
This has nothing to do with the situation at Arsenal, which I also will not comment about out of respect, because it s not on me to comment. I don t know what happened.
In Dortmund, there was never an issue.
And Tuchel is not concerned by others opinions on Aubameyang, adding: I don t follow the press about Auba. Don t be offended, but I don t follow the press so much.
I don t know if he has a bad press or a good press – I could not care less. It s not important.
For now, Tuchel s focus is on Sunday s game against Spurs, and he is determined not to be distracted by possible transfer activity.
We will not panic, and we will not try to sign players of which we are not 100 per cent convinced, he explained. Our signings so far are fantastic signings and help us.
To be very honest, it s a day-by-day business now to coach the team which is here and not to lose your head as a coach too much about what could be.
What sense does it make if I lose my head now in the office and think about the team with players who are not here?
We are ambitious, and we work hard to maybe strengthen our squad further, but at the same time we are calm, and all the energy and the ambition goes into the group that is here. We have still time.
