Thomas Tuchel speaks on Chelsea’s plans for Kenedy and Loftus-Cheek

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel spoke about his plans for Kenedy and Ruben Loftus-Cheek ahead of the Premier League encounter against Manchester City.

Kenedy spent the first half of the season on loan at Brazilian heavyweights Flamengo, where he made 17 appearances across all competitions.

The 25-year-old was recently recalled by the Blues. He could have a significant role to play for the club during the back end of the season following Ben Chilwell’s injury.

He is comfortable operating in the left-back or left wing-back position. Tuchel has hinted that he could be a solution with Chilwell ruled out for the campaign.

He told Chelseafc.com: “We cannot say Kenedy is the solution, but he can be a solution. He is back, and I’m very happy about that.

“It is a huge opportunity for him to make his mark at this club. We will try now from today on to push and support him as good as we can.”

Meanwhile, there has recently been speculation that Juventus are interested in loaning Loftus-Cheek with a possible option to buy.

When pressed on the midfielder’s future, Tuchel said it has not been discussed and added that he still has a lot to offer to the club.

He added: “We haven’t talked about it. He has a lot of game time I would say if you look at the last years and you look at this season.”

“He has a lot to fight for here when you talk about Ruben and my personal opinion.”

The Blues have lost their way in the league since November. They are presently on a run of four draws and one win from five games.

Ahead of tomorrow’s early kick-off at the Etihad Stadium, they are already 10 points adrift of City, who are flying at the top.

The Cityzens are currently on a stunning 11-match winning league streak, and will go into the game as favourites despite recent encounters favouring the London giants.

Tuchel has had the edge over Pep Guardiola in the last four meetings with three wins and one defeat. One of those victories came in last year’s Champions League final.

However, the reverse fixture this term was very much one-sided. The Blues failed to register a shot on target. They lost just 1-0 after Edouard Mendy’s goalkeeping heroics.