Reece James has become the first Chelsea player to speak out following Thomas Tuchel's shock sacking.
Tuchel was axed by Todd Boehly the morning after the Blues succumbed to an unexpected 1-0 defeat against Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League - although It has since emerged that the new Chelsea hierarchy had already decided that the German's time at the club was up and that he was set to be sacked regardless of the outcome of Tuesday night's match.
The former Paris Saint-Germain coach was a popular figure at Stamford Bridge and made an instant impact at the club, guiding Chelsea to the Champions League title just months after succeeding Frank Lampard.
Although Tuchel had overseen some indifferent results in the opening weeks of the new season, there were no indications that his job was at risk - meaning his abrupt exit came as a major shock.
Given that the Chelsea squad were only informed of Tuchel's dismissal on Wednesday morning, there has been a subdued reaction on social media. Summer signing Wesley Fofana has since shared a picture of himself and Tuchel on his Instagram account, but James has now become the first player to speak out since Tuchel's exit was confirmed.
The right-back, who penned a bumper new deal with the Blues earlier this week, shared a picture of himself and Tuchel hugging with the caption: "Thank you", complete with a blue heart.
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Ben Chilwell also followed suit, with the former Leicester City wing-back posting: "Thank you for the amazing memories coach!"
According to The Sun, Tuchel found out he was being axed in a brutal 10-minute phone call with Boehly and the new Stamford Bridge regime on Wednesday morning.
The decision comes just weeks after the club allowed Tuchel to spend in excess of £270million over the summer in a bid to build a squad capable of challenging Liverpool and Manchester City at the summit of the Premier League.
Boehly and Chelsea have moved quickly in their bid to appoint Tuchel's successor, with the Londoners already locked in talks with Brighton boss Graham Potter. Mauricio Pochettino and Zinedine Zidane are also in the frame to succeed Tuchel, but Potter has emerged as Boehly's top choice after working his magic on the south coast.
It is believed that the Blues will have to shell out around £16m if they are to be successful in their bid to prise Potter away from Brighton. However, that is not anticipated to be a problem for Chelsea, who have already spent significant sums of money since Boehly assumed control of the club earlier this year.
The Blues are hoping to appoint Tuchel's successor before this weekend's west London derby at Fulham.
