Saúl's Chelsea days numbered as Tuchel plans January clear-out

Thomas Tüchel has 27 players on the payroll and wants to whittle down his Chelsea squad. The club made huge efforts to strengthen his side last summer - especially in attack by bringing in Romelu Lukaku. But those who haven't made the grade could be offloaded in the January transfer window. According to The Daily Express, Chelsea are keen to lighten the load and bring in some cash by letting up to six players leave during the winter window: Christensen, Baker and Musonda, whose contracts are coming to an end; Barkley, who isn't in the coach's plans; Sarr, who could go out on loan to gain playing time and Saúl, who is on loan but hasn't been getting minutes.

Saúl struggles on Chelsea debut

The Express explain that the Spanish midfielder has been having a lot of problems adapting to the team. He joined on the final day of the last transfer window and Tüchel started playing him immediately, maybe too hastily -  his debut was one to forget. The German coach explained that Saul is a player who he has been tracking for some time and he has faith that he will soon settle in and start producing his best form.

Tüchel is playing Saúl in the EFL Carabao Cup, but he was back on the bench for yesterday's Premier League meeting with Burnley. The Express claim that Chelsea will not be exercising their option to buy the player when the loan deal ends in June, and if things continue as they are, they may even let him go in the January window. In Madrid, Atleti are keeping an eye on the situation. By letting Saúl  leave, Atlético were able to bring in Griezmann. The club freed themselves from paying Saúl's wages - seven million euros net per season, to be able to meet Griezmann's salary. Atlético are not considering taking the midfielder back in the short term. They hope that things will start working out for Saúl at Chelsea so that even if he doesn't stay in London, his time at Stamford Bridge will have given the exposure to attract other clubs. If Chelsea decide not to buy him and put him on the market in January, Atleti will need to look at another solution. As things stand, Saúl has played a total of just 238 minutes for Chelsea.