Glen Johnson on Tuchel’s future: “It’s the hottest seat in world football”

“I’d like to think Tuchel will still be at the club next season, but it’s the hottest seat in world football. I don’t think it’d surprise anybody if he wasn’t at Chelsea but I think it would be absolute madness for them to sack him. I think what he’s done in such a short period of time, and I think they are improving, if they keep him another season I think they’d be doing the right thing. I can’t imagine someone will walk in and pick up from where he’s left off and improve them immediately. I think it would be a mistake if he was to come under pressure.”

“I don’t think Chelsea need him, but I think he could help. He’s obviously a great player. Christian Pulisic isn’t really happening at the moment. Timo Werner’s not really happening at the moment. So if you’ve got a player who can come in and push them all for places and maybe they could trade one the other way, I reckon Chelsea would be interested in Dembélé.”

“He looks like a fantastic young player. I think Liverpool will be kicking themselves that they didn’t get the deal done in January. Considering that he’s out of contract in the summer, if his form continues like the way it has been then there will be more competition for him come the summer.

“The Premier League is the best league in the world and we want to see the best young players there. He’s a super young player and looked unfazed playing against Manchester City in the FA Cup, so yes, I’d love to see him in the Premier League.”

“£60 million is an awful lot of money as you know, so to do a deal for almost half that makes the move even more exciting. I think it’s good business and he’s already hit the ground running in terms of getting an assist against Cardiff. I think he could go on to be a fantastic signing for the club.”

“I’m excited and he’s a good player. He looks like he’s already settled but I don’t want to judge him too soon. His signing will have given other players a boost, but if they want to catch Manchester City then they’re going to need a boost. 

“I don’t think one player is good enough to bridge the gap with Manchester City, but I do think they’ve made a good addition to their squad. Luis Díaz will be knocking on the door for a place in the first eleven. If they were aiming to close the gap quicker then they may have needed a couple more players of the same quality to come in.” 

“We don’t know how strong Liverpool’s interest is in [Jarrod] Bowen anyway. With the signing of Luis Díaz, I don’t think Liverpool will be looking to sign Bowen too, if there was any truth in the rumours to begin with. If there was interest then I believe the signing of Díaz has done West Ham a favour.”

“I think he’s going to have to. I think Lamps will be able to get his arm around them. But it’s not about the manager - they have to want to do it. I think Dele has shown us for a few seasons what he can do and what he’s capable of but he’s been nowhere near that for a while now. You don’t lose your ability overnight so I’m sure he can, he just needs to start enjoying his football and working hard. I think Lamps will be able to help him but he can’t give them something they don’t have; they need the desire and hunger themselves. If Everton can find some form they’ll be way too good for relegation.”

“Yeah, absolutely, we see it an awful lot, a team is struggling badly, a new manager comes in and they win their first game. Hopefully, for Lampard it’s not just their reaction overnight, hopefully, they’re buying into what he’s going to install in them because I think they’ve got a good squad and they’ve shown us that at the start of the season, I think it’s more of a question of their mentality than their quality”

“He’s going to have to hit the ground running for sure, I can’t remember the last time he played for England to be honest. He’s got a lot to prove. If he can hit the right form and bang in some goals and get some assists, then obviously Gareth Southgate is going to have to take him seriously. But, right now, I think he has to concentrate on Everton and work his socks off. I have no doubt he has the ability to be in the England squad but he might have run out of time for this World Cup.” 

“The way West Ham play, they all work their socks off and they’ve got an awful lot of games this season. In the last couple of seasons, their form has dropped off at the backend of the campaign and I think that could be attributed to fitness and fatigue. I definitely think they needed to get a few more players in if they wanted to maintain a serious challenge for fourth spot.

“Michail Antonio works his socks off but he’s injured quite a lot and he’s not a goal machine by any stretch of the imagination. I do think West Ham needed a few more players in January. They needed more squad players due to the amount of injuries they’ve had. They just needed a few fringe players who could have kept the current eleven focused and kept them fighting for their shirts. I don’t necessarily think there’s a weak area in West Ham’s team, they just need a bigger squad.”

“It could, but I don’t think the club just sat on its hands doing nothing. I don’t think there’s any lack of aspiration or anything like that. I just think that the players the club wanted demanded a fee that was bigger than what they wanted to spend. I’d rather they did their business by how they see fit rather than just spending money for the sake of it. I do, however, believe that they needed a couple of new players in but I’m sure they’ve got reasons why nothing came off.”

“I think we’re all surprised that Leicester haven’t kicked on the way that we thought they would, but I don’t think there’s any hiding the fact that the United speculation has hindered the progress for whatever reason. Maybe the players thought he didn’t want to be there, we’re not sure, but something has definitely gone wrong since then. Unless he can win the dressing room back, and if these performances keep happening, then of course the club are going to look to seek another manager. I still think he’s a good manager but if you’ve lost the dressing room it’s too late.”