Do Chelsea have the CMs to fit Tuchel's philosophy?

Brief summary of Tuchel’s favoured CM-profile.

In Attack

In attack, the role of Tuchel’s CM can be summed up to one word, distribution. As learnt in previous articles, Tuchel’s philosophy regardless of formation, manifests into a 3-4-3 diamond. This formation consists of 3 aspects: 1) a 3-2 base, 2) a midfield-4-diamond and 3) a wide front 3. As opposed to Tuchel’s DM, whose sole distributive responsibilities lay within the 3-2 base, Tuchel’s CMs’ distributive responsibilities lay within both the 3-2 base and midfield diamond. In simpler terms, Tuchel’s CMs must contribute in progression from both deep-lying (no.6) and advanced (no.8 and no.10) areas; making them the main distributors of Tuchel’s system.

To do so, in addition to having an excellent line-breaking ball playing capacity, a Tuchel CM must have the ability to receive the ball on the turn, between the 3rd and 2nd line of the opposition’s defense, and flourish in such tiny spaces. All in all, being the connector between Tuchel’s back-3 and front-3.

In Defence

While Tuchel’s CMs are the main distributors in attack, they also play crucial roles in defense. Within Tuchel’s philosophy, the CM is pivotal in all of: 1) Applying a forward press, 2) Defending transitions and 3) Defending in a low block. 

In press, Tuchel uses 5 players, often in the form of a front 2 and midfield 3. Here, the CM often takes up the wide-most positions of the midfield 3, thus having to defend alongside Tuchel’s fullback/wingback in press. In defending transitions, depending on formation, the CM must be primed to counter-press if in no.10-8 positions or be able to protect Tuchel’s makeshift back-3 if in no.6 positions. Last but not least, when in a low block, Tuchel likes to set up his teams with a midfield 3 protecting his back line, whether using a 4-5-1 or 5-3-2 in defense. Here, the CM is one of the players in that midfield 3, and thus must be able to protect that back-line. 

All in all, it is clear that the CM must be defensively astute in order to fit Tuchel’s philosophy. 

Do our current CMs meet such profile?

Mateo Kovacic

I want to start with Kovacic, because I believe he is the perfect Tuchel CM. When looking at Tuchel’s favored CM profile, I see it as more as a no.6 who can roam into no.8 positions, rather than a no.8 who can roam into no.10 positions. In these zones, Kovacic possesses the perfect tactical awareness, distributive capacity and defensive astuteness, which makes him the model CM in Tuchel’s philosophy. I believe Kovacic has all the raw materials of a Marco Verratti, and can become as much of a player if he maximizes his distributive capacity.

What do I mean by that? In the last 2 seasons, we have seen a drastic improvement in the end-product and vision of Kovacic’s game from a distributive point of view. His line-breaking ability has been top notch, and I believe if he has the right no.10s and wingers in-front of him, he can maximize these positive raw materials, and become the end product we know he can be, the best CM in the world.

Billy Gilmour

When it comes to a player who can operate in no.6 and no.8 areas as a main distributor, there is no better youngster in the world than Billy Gilmour. I believe Billy has all the raw materials to become the perfect Tuchel CM. As opposed to many others, I do not believe Billy is a lone no.6, instead, I believe he has the mobility to be a roaming CM, allowing him to impact the game with his creativity from several zones/angles on the pitch.

That being said, being such a young player, there are obviously many aspects Billy can work on. From a defensive point of view, while he is decent, I believe he can develop more physically in order to maximize his defensive potential, especially playing in the Premiere League.

All in all, I am a strong believer that Billy Gilmour should be integrated in the first team next season, as back-up for a Kovacic and Kante, who have both shown to have multiple injuries per season is vital.

N’golo Kante

Tactically, I believe that Kante’s ability to read the game off the ball, both in attack and defense is fantastic. In attack, Kante’s ability to make himself available in no.6, no.8 and no.10 positions is unbelievable. Not only that, but upon receiving the ball, his agility and dribbling makes him incredibly press resistant, and is one of the reasons why we have been so deadly in counters under Tuchel.

That being said, the only part of Kante’s game which is lacking is his vertical distribution. While he’s an excellent short-passer when it comes to beating the opposition’s press, he often lacks the vision and verticality needed to impact the game from a creative point of view. In other words, there are many times where there will be vertical passing options, either between the lines or in-behind, and Kante either decides not to pass, or does not see the pass. In Tuchel’s philosophy, this is unacceptable.

Verticality is the name of the game in Tuchel’s philosophy, and as a CM who is expected to be the main distributor in his system, not excelling in this aspect of the game can be a major problem. This is often why you would see Tuchel implement Kante as a roaming off-the-ball no.10. Many times, Kante would be tactically implemented in no.10 in wide areas, allowing either Tuchel’s wingers, wingbacks or CBs to get into that creative CM zone instead.

Mason Mount

 The majority of Chelsea’s fan-base would agree that Mason Mount’s best position is as an attacking CM. That is, a midfielder who can impact the game from no.8 and no.10 areas, and whose services won’t be needed in no.6 areas. That being said, in Tuchel’s philosophy, this is not always required from Tuchel’s CMs. Often times, it is Tuchel’s wingers who act as the no.10s in his system, requiring his CMs to be more deep-lying creative personnel instead. Can Mason Mount do a job as that deep-lying player?

Yes, I believe Mason can do a job in such zones, as it would give him the time to see those passes between the lines and in behind. That is something he lacks in those advanced no.10 positions, the vision to see that pass in a split second. Being in deep positions will buy him that time. However, there is something about Mason Mount that I love and cannot be ignored. I love Mason’s tenacity in tight spaces, which makes him press resistant in no.10 areas.  Furthermore, I love his tactical know-how to always be that “extra/free-man” in midfield, who is able to receive the ball between the lines and drive forward in addition to getting into goal scoring areas in the box.

That is why I would prefer Mason be a winger in Tuchel’s system, because the winger in Tuchel’s system plays largely as a no.10. That being said, if Mason is to flourish in that winger position, he would need to improve in his 1v1 ability, both in wide and central areas, in order to beat defenders. While Mason does a fantastic job at making himself available in those positions, upon receiving the ball, he rarely takes on players, and often resorts to back-passing it. Therefore, he would still need to improve from both a distributive and 1v1 capacity. With that, we would get deeper into this topic when we discuss the “winger” in Tuchel’s philosophy (coming next).

In conclusion

I believe the profile of CM in a Tuchel philosophy is a Verratti-type player, someone who can creatively and defensively impact the game from no.6 and 8 positions. That said, I believe that Kovacic and Billy Gilmour are current personnel I believe are perfect for this role.