Leaving Chelsea this summer, Nicolas Tié decided it was best for his career to move on from Stamford Bridge and try to get regular football elsewhere.
The young goalkeeper never made a first-team appearance during his time in London, but gained enough reputation to earn himself a move to Vitoria Guimarães when the time came to find himself a new club.
Signing with the Portuguese side for five years, the Lille born shot stopper explained to Centre Presse that he primarily chose the club after ‘looking at the amount of game time I can win over there’.
Wanting to ‘play and impose’ himself, he immediately rejected the chance to return to France, because it would mean going back to where it all started.
In Portugal, as he puts it: “I’m going to work calmly. No one knows me, I don’t know anyone”.
It’s a fresh start for the 19-year-old, who has no regrets over his move to Chelsea, because they helped him become ‘the man I am today’.
He added: “I was fan of the club before signing, but I completely fell in love with it. At Chelsea, I met formidable teammates and staff members. When I injured my shoulder in 2018, no one left me behind. We formed a real family. Chelsea will forever be in my heart”.
As for the future, he has one big dream, and that’s making it to the Ivory Coast national team, whom he can play for through his father.
While he knows it’ll be hard: ”With the World Cup and the Africa Cup of Nations in 2022, the calendar offers me an extraordinary source of motivation”.
