Meet Thomas Tuchel, the man tipped to replace Lampard at Chelsea

Chelsea sacked manager Frank Lampard on Monday after 18 months in charge, with former Paris Saint-Germain boss Thomas Tuchel hotly tipped to replace him at Stamford Bridge.

Lampard signed a three-year deal in July 2019, leading Chelsea to the FA Cup final and a fourth-placed Premier League finish in his first season in charge.

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Chelsea cruised into the last 16 of the Champions League and briefly topped the Premier League table in December after an impressive start to the season but they have now slumped to ninth after five defeats in eight matches — 11 points behind leaders Manchester United.

Sunday’s 3-1 FA Cup fourth-round win against Championship side Luton was not enough to save the former England midfielder.

Former PSG boss Tuchel, who was abruptly fired by the French champions in December has been reported to be the possible replacement at the Stamford Bridge.

Here are what you should know about him:

• Born on August 29 1973, Thomas Tuchel is a German professional football coach and former player revered for his tactical knowledge and style of play
• His playing career ended at the age of 25 as a result of chronic knee cartilage injury
• He began his coaching career in year 2000 with the youth teams of VfB Stuttgart of Germany
• In 2009, following a successful one-year period at FC Augsburg II, he was hired by newly promoted Bundesliga club Mainz 05.
• Tuchel guided Mainz to league stability during his five seasons at the club, and gained plaudits for his brand of energetic, attacking football.
• He also cultivated a reputation for having a focus on promoting youth players.
• He departed Mainz in 2014 as a result of financial disputes, and in 2015, was appointed Coach of Borussia Dortmund, where he won the DFB-Pokal before being dismissed in 2017.
• He was appointed as Coach of French club Paris Saint-Germain in 2018, where he won two league titles, including a domestic quadruple in his second season, and guided the club to its first ever UEFA Champions League final.[6] However, Tuchel was dismissed in 2020.