Chelsea boss Tuchel admits he was desperate to sign Bruno Fernandes

Paul Macdonald

• Updated: 20 May 2021 11:26 BST
• 2 min read

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has revealed he was desperate to sign Manchester United star Bruno Fernandes when he was in charge at PSG.

The Blues face Man Utd in a pivotal Premier League match at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

Tuchel, who has made an unbeaten start in eight matches with Chelsea, will be tasked with finding a strategy to keep Fernandes quiet.

Had circumstances been different, he could have been managing Fernandes with PSG in Ligue 1 having attempted to sign him from Sporting CP.

Just over one year on from his Manchester United debut, Fernandes has taken the Premier League by storm with 23 goals and 17 assists in 39 matches.

‘Bad for Chelsea to have to play against Bruno’

Tuchel acknowledged the ability of Manchester United star Fernandes as he discussed the attempts to sign him for PSG.

“With my first sporting director in Paris, Antero Henrique, a Portuguese sporting director, he knew [Fernandes] very well,” Tuchel said ahead of Chelsea v Man Utd.

“We fought hard to have a connection to him and to bring him to our team.

“I got made aware of him more in detail, so we watched more and more games about him and followed him and tried to be in touch with him to make it happen.

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“Obviously, he decided [to sign for Man Utd].

“I was never personally in touch with him, but we tried and he went another way. It is bad for us that we have to play against him.”

Tuchel: Fernandes impact is almost impossible

Chelsea have had some difficulties with their recent high-profile signings but Man Utd have hit the jackpot with Fernandes.

Tuchel added: “The impact he has had since he arrived at Manchester United is indescribable and unbelievable.

“To come from Portugal, from a competitive team, a big club but not from the strongest league and stepping in a year to one of the biggest clubs in the Premier League and the strongest league in Europe and to have this kind of impact, I have nothing but the biggest respect for this guy.

“It is outstanding. He is one of the best midfielders in the world, attacking midfielders.

“He has a huge, huge impact and to have this as a single person in football, you must be absolutely top level because this is almost impossible.

“But he has such a big influence on their game, on their attacking game and that it is a big key to defend against him, to be around him and close to him and he is a key player of Man Utd in a way that is outstanding.”