PREMIER LEAGUE
Saúl joined Chelsea as a favour
According to Cadena SER, Saúl's agent asked Chelsea for a helping hand - contrary to another version that he was an express petition by Tüchel and Cech.
Saúl isn't having the easiest of times at Chelsea. The midfielder requested to leave Atlético Madrid over the summer and his wish was granted on the final day of the transfer window. He entered into a three-way operation, joining Chelsea while Antoine Griezmann left Barcelona to return to Atleti and Luuk de Jong ended up at Camp Nou.
The deal was sewn up in a question of hours and Saúl joined the European champions but hasn't managed to settle in and find his place. He's totalled just 47 minutes of playing time in the Premier League, less than half an hour in the Champions League and his only consolation is getting to play in the EFL Carabao Cup - the least prestigious of the domestic cup competitions in which the bigger clubs tend to use to give experience to youth or fringe players who don't usually play.
Saúl hardly figures at all in Tüchel's plans and that comes as no surprise considering recent reports made on Cadena SER's Carrusel Confidential programme. They claim that the German coach did not request his signing and that Chelsea did not have the Spanish player on their list of reinforcements. They claim that Chelsea only agreed to take Saúl as a favour for the player's agent Jonathan Barnett. That is not the version given by Saúl's close circle, who say that the player was an express petition by Tüchel and Peter Cech.
Saúl moves to London on deadline day
Saúl insisted that he wanted to leave Atleti but according to La SER, there were no offers for him. That was why his agents desperately tried to persuade clubs which whom they had close contacts with to accept a loan deal, La SER reports, until they found a taker in Chelsea.
They add that Atlético are fully aware that Chelsea will not be using their option to buy Saúl at the end of the loan and are thinking of ways to resolve the issue if the player has to return to Madrid at the end of the season.
His lack of playing time has meant that his market value has dropped considerably and that will complicate matters for Atlético when the time comes to sell him. Atleti would be open to moving Saúl on as it would free them of his high salary.