'I didn't know if I was a Chelsea or Atletico player', confesses Saul
Martin Macdonald
- 18 Sept 2021 13:28 BST
- 5 min read
Saul Niguez admits that it was not clear at the end of the transfer window whether he was a Chelsea or Atletico Madrid player.
The Spaniard had been linked with Chelsea in the second half of the summer as Thomas Tuchel sought another central midfielder to support N'Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic and Jorginho.
Saul was targeted, but the deal went down to the wire on deadline day, with the correct documentation only being approved at the last minute.
The player has detailed what happened on the night the deadline closed.
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"At five I went to the office with my wife and daughter," he said in an interview with Fabrizio Romano.
"At seven o'clock I see that it has not been signed yet and I had met with the hairdresser to cut my hair, pack my suitcase and get to train the next day. I saw that it did not close.
"At nine o'clock at night I told my wife 'go home, have dinner, because I don't know what's going to happen, it's taking a long time.'
"I sign at 23:57, it is sent and I look at the clock I say 'there is no time'.
"The market is closed and I do not know if it is official or not, I had signed but ... I was charging my mobile and updating the newspapers and my partner to see if Fabrizio Romano had made it official.
"I did not know if I had signed or not, I did not know I was leaving. I was stressed, people would ask me and say 'I don't know.'"
Tuchel criticises Saul
Saul made his debut for Chelsea last weekend in a Premier League clash against Aston Villa.
Though the Blues would win 3-0, Saul struggled in midfield, and manager Thomas Tuchel did not hold back in his criticism afterwards.
"I had the feeling that he struggled," the German told Sky Sports.
"There were some big mistakes, passing mistakes, and he struggled with the intensity. You could see he isn’t fully adapted.
"It's completely my responsibility. I had the feeling he could jump in for us and play at that level.
"I [then] thought it was maybe better to change him, but it doesn’t change anything [about how I see him]."
