Saul Niguez’s horror Chelsea loan takes a strange turn with Thomas Tuchel looking at the star flop at full-back

THOMAS TUCHEL reveals struggling Saul Niguez has been used at full-back in Chelsea training.

The midfielder signed on loan this summer from Atletico Madrid but then seven matches he has struggled.

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In his debut against Aston Villa in September and in his most recent match at Watford, Niguez was caught in the first half.

But with Ben Chilwell, 24, injured and Marcos Alonso, 30, Chelsea’s only full-back recognized, Tuchel said the Spaniard was tested in defence.

“I think he can play as a full-back,” he said.

“We do this sometimes in training, that’s why we got the impression that he might be a good fit. Maybe in the next games we have to try it.”

Niguez, 27, has played on the left side of midfield before, but never in the back.

He was substituted for Thiago Silva, 37, at Vicarage Road with the centre-back Trevoh Chalobah, 22 years old, switched to midfield as In the end, Chelsea won 2-1.

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But then, his performance questioned by boss Tuchel.

He said: “I don’t know where he went after this performance but he got a yellow card so we have two options.

“We can withdraw Marcos, who has also been shown a yellow card, and try Saul at full-back.

“I had this in mind before the game, if something happens to Marcos.

“But I thought maybe it wasn’t the right match to try new positions so I [subbing] he changed shape a bit and had Thiago on the field with his organization.

“There’s Trevoh in number six who has better fitness – unfortunately Trevoh injured himself and we ended up with Ruben in number six.

“But it was a tactical decision.”

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