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An abject defeat to arch-rivals Liverpool two days after the transfer window closed has left Manchester United news segueing straight from the transfer market to the potential sacking of manager Erik ten Hag.
Whilst fans will agree to differ on whether it’s fair to write off the manager after three games, the fact is that the media is awash with rumours of how close he is to the sack and who might replace him.
One prominent name in those reports is former Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel, who is still out of work after parting company with Bayern Munich last season. However, for the German to be considered a candidate, something would have to change from the summer just gone.
It was widely reported that United had interviewed Tuchel, among others, for the manager role but in the end decided to stick with Ten Hag, who glibly claimed this was because Ineos told him “we think we already have the best manager in house.”
But according to German pundit Marcel Reif (from Bild via Sport Witness), Tuchel was “pretty far along, almost in agreement” with United.
Reif claims that it was Tuchel who turned down the job offered by United because they would not give him sufficient control over transfers.
The pundit claimed that “as far as the squad is concerned, the considerations were different. Tuchel said pretty much at the finish line: ‘I’m not doing that! I won’t do that to myself again, that I go to a club and then things come from outside.”
This begs the question, if Ten Hag were now to be sacked after all, would the situation have changed?
Would Tuchel still be United’s number one choice? The Mirror claims that he is.
Would he have regretted not taking the job and now accept it? Or would Ineos regret their hard line over transfers and make concessions to him this time around?
And would he still be the preferred candidate? It may be that options that weren’t available to Ineos in June/July could be available now. Gareth Southgate is an obvious example. He is believed to be a good friend of sporting director Dan Ashworth but it is fair to say he would be a hugely unpopular choice with fans.
Tuchel himself also divides fans. Some do not like his chaos ball tactics, similar to those Ten Hag has unsuccessfully been trying to implement. Others believe that a world-class proponent of the system that has been drilled into the squad over the last 24 months, albeit inadequately, might offer the perfect path forward.
Of course, this all might be moot if United rally and start to put a run of good form and good results together, or indeed, should Tuchel get a job elsewhere. But as things stand, Ten Hag must be nervously looking over his shoulder at the 51 year old.
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