Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has hinted that he could take Jorginho off penalty duty in a bid to help the Blues’ misfiring forwards.
The Italian has assumed the role as the West London club’s prime penalty taker since his £50m move from Serie A giants Napoli. His trademark technique has been widely successful with 15 converted spot-kicks to his name since 2020, whilst he has missed just four in a Blues shirt.
Jorginho has already been successful from the penalty spot this season by netting the winner against struggling Everton on the opening weekend of the campaign at Goodison Park.
Despite that highly impressive record, Tuchel has suggested that he may be forced to give penalty duties to someone else in an effort to improve the fortunes of Chelsea ’s stuttering frontline - Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner having struggled at Stamford Bridge ahead of their summer exits.
Speaking ahead of Sunday’s clash with Leeds United, the German said: “Maybe we need to take Jorginho’s penalties away. For strikers, this sometimes can increase their numbers dramatically – if you give them eight, nine, 10 penalties.
“But then who would take a penalty from Jorginho? We want to win in the end. He a fantastically good penalty taker!”
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As it stands, Chelsea do not have an out-and-out forward to call upon for the remainder of the campaign, with Lukaku and Werner having sealed returns to Inter Milan and RB Leipzig respectively earlier this summer.
Kai Havertz and Raheem Sterling have been acting as the Blues’ auxiliary forwards whilst Chelsea chiefs look for attacking reinforcements. Barcelona forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is high on the club’s shortlist, whilst Brentford’s Ivan Toney is looked on as a viable alternative.
Regardless of who comes in between now and September’s deadline, Tuchel has stated that man will be more than keen on breaking the theme of Chelsea’s big-money forwards struggling.
“I think strikers are a very special breed, they’re very sensitive but also very self-confident,” he continued. “Any striker would love to be the guy to break the habit of struggling. This is what I believe and feel.”
Chelsea’s prime target Aubameyang only departed the Premier League in January as he left Arsenal under a cloud to join Barcelona. Since arriving at the Camp Nou, the Gabonese has netted 13 goals in 24 outings for the Spanish giants.
He has just under three years remaining on his contract but a move to Stamford Bridge would see him reunited with his former Borussia Dortmund boss Tuchel.
