Thomas Tuchel doing his best to convince key first-team coach to commit his future to Chelsea

Thomas Tuchel is eager on keeping set-piece coach Anthony Barry at Chelsea

According to The Athletic (Subscription Required), Thomas Tuchel is persuading set-piece coach Anthony Barry to stay at Chelsea amidst interest in him from elsewhere.

The 35-year-old had quite an uneventful career. He started alongside Wayne Rooney at Everton but later went on to play in seven clubs in the lower divisions of English football. However, coaching came to him easily, thanks to his eye for detail in set-pieces.

He formed part of the backroom staff at Wigan Athletic before Frank Lampard lured him to Stamford Bridge last summer. Thomas Tuchel also retained his services once the Blues hired the German manager earlier this year.

But Chelsea do stand a chance of losing Barry, with Aberdeen, Tranmere Rovers, and Cardiff City keen on appointing him as their manager. Tuchel shares a good relationship with the Englishman and is doing his best to convince him to stay on in West London. 

Crucial to our success

To put his importance into perspective, Chelsea conceded 14 times from set-pieces in the 2019/20 season. Since the appointment of the Merseyside-born coach, the men in blue have only conceded eight times from corners, free-kicks, and other dead ball situations. 

Alternatively, we have also scored 19 goals from set-pieces in the last 16 months, with only Liverpool (20) and West Ham (22) doing better than us in this period. Thus, it is crucial to keep a hold of him, especially if we hope to lift the Premier League title and several other trophies in the coming years.

Our defensive performances may be reeking of desperation in recent weeks, but it was one of the best in the business until the end of November. The defenders have also been actively contributing to goals, thanks to the tutelage of Barry. 

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He could become a manager someday and perhaps also possesses the tactical acumen to do so. However, he has spent less than two years at a top-flight club as a set-piece coach. The former Wigan coach might require a little more experience before he takes the next step. Till then, the Blues need to make the best use of his knowledge and training sessions.