Thomas Tuchel leapt to the defence of under-fire summer signing Saul Niguez who once again came under the scanner of the Chelsea fanbase.
The Spain international has failed to adapt to life in England’s top flight since his move to the capital city from Atletico Madrid in the final hours of the summer transfer window.
His arrival had been subject to much anticipation after his exploits in the La Liga but Saul’s showings of late have given the signals that Chelsea will not be keen on activating the option to buy clause in the initial loan deal.
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Saul has been substituted at the half-time interval in his two Premier League outings and his display in the 1-1 stalemate at home against Everton earlier this week invited fresh criticism from the Blues supporters.
Tuchel in his pre-match remarks ahead of Chelsea taking on Wolves over the weekend admitted that Saul had failed to replicate his Atletico form at the Bridge but hit out at the social media reactions against the midfielder.
“Does Saul feel the same as he did at Atletico and the same guy with the same role and responsibility? No, maybe not yet.
“Does he struggle? Yes, he struggles.
“Is he the first player to struggle coming to the Premier League? No. And he will not be the last one.
“We will protect our players. I will protect my players always.
“On Thursday, he played as a No.6, as a No.9 and as a wing-back.
“Is that fair to him? No, it is not.
“So this needs to be put into context and then we have to have a bit more of a moderate picture and a more moderate reaction.
“I understand that people are disappointed after Thursday, but reactions like this are exactly the reasons why I do not involve myself in social media.
