Former Chelsea assistant manager Jody Morris believes Thomas Tuchel is the man to unlock Antonio Rudiger’s full potential as a top defender.
Rudiger joined the Blues in 2017 under Antonio Conte and then Mauricio Pochettino before Frank Lampard took over in 2019, assisted by ยูฟ่าเบท Morris, but has struggled to impress and has struggled with physical issues.
Morris told talkSPORT about Rudiger: “When we first went there, Rudiger had a serious injury and couldn’t play for a long time.
“Can Rudiger play at the same level as he did under Thomas Tuchel? I’m not sure. He wasn’t at that level before with us – never.”
“But I understand because even after we came out, with Rudiger, I don’t think there is a better centre-back in Europe, but I think you can always find a player like that under a new manager, with a new system.”
“I know when Tuchel came to Chelsea – from talking to Anthony Barry – he worked with a data analysis company and then maybe looked at where he needed to improve in the current team and the starting line-up.
“I think the adjustment to playing with three centre-backs. Which Toni Rudiger does very well in a three-centre system with wing-backs, not just from a defensive point of view but also in the attacking aspect.”
“I think he’s got some runs in the area, but I’m not sure we’ll get that level of performance again before or after that.”