Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel reckons the capture of Marc Cucurella will ease the pressure on Ben Chilwell.
Left-back Chilwell is looking to re-establish himself after missing most of last season with a knee injury.
Tuchel now has another option in that position following Cucurella’s arrival at Stamford Bridge.
And the German believes that will give Chillwell more time to get back up to speed.
“It absolutely helps,” Tuchel said at a press conference on Friday.
“It helps Ben to escape the pressure of ‘I have to deliver’ and ‘We need you absolutely now’.
“At the moment of course we also have Marcos Alonso, Kenedy and Emerson in this position.
“Ben is very ambitious and he couldn’t wait to come back to team training. He looks better and better and at the same time it seems that he needs a little bit more time to adapt to the rhythm and physicality of matches, which is absolutely normal.
“It’s a very demanding league and we have to take care about him, not just throw him in.
“He is impatient and we will never expect him to be fully patient, but he knows – we speak a lot about it – that everything needs time.
“He will get the time and still we will try to put him on the pitch as soon as possible because he was and is a huge asset for us.”
Cucurella can also operate as a wing-back or left-sided central defender, so will add versatility.
Tuchel hopes the new acquisition will essentially offer on the left-hand side what captain Cesar Azpilicueta does on the right.
“He gives us many options,” Tuchel said.
“He can play I think very well in a back three, so it’s a bit of the profile of Azpi with a left foot.”