Thomas Tuchel has emerged as a surprise candidate to replace Erik ten Hag as the Manchester United manager, following a below-par season for the Red Devils. United are all but out of the race for the top four, with a change of manager in the summer now being mooted.
With five league games of the season left to play, the best United can hope for is Europa League qualification. The three-time European champions have dropped points in over half of their Premier League outings this term, with United currently 13 points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa.
As a result, talk of Ten Hag’s sacking has started to pop up, with reports United could turn to ex-Chelsea man Tuchel instead. The current Bayern Munich boss lifted the Champions League with Chelsea, and according to German outlet Kicker, is admired by Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS.
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Tuchel is expected to be let go by Bayern at the end of the season, having failed to win either the Bundesliga or DFB Pokal during his first full campaign in charge. Despite his poor domestic showings, Tuchel has at least guided Bayern to the Champions League semi-finals and could land on his feet at Old Trafford. That’s because, as per The Athletic, the United job would ‘strongly appeal’ to the soon-to-be out-of-work tactician.
Despite the talk about his future, Ten Hag remains committed to the United job. Speaking after Wednesday night’s win over Sheffield United, the under-pressure manager said: “The team showed resilience and it is not easy when you are losing the game against a compact team, as Sheffield United was. We outplayed them, we were calm, didn’t let them run and we created a lot of chances.”
And even though he was happy with his side’s showing, Ten Hag did recognise United were – once again – sloppy in parts. Addressing his team’s deficiencies in the 4-2 win, Ten Hag said: “We can’t keep making such mistakes, and the top level if you want to achieve your targets, if you want to win trophies, then you have to stop this process. We have to keep the focus, you can’t allow these mistakes. Because you make your life easier when you don’t make mistakes.”
Ten Hag will at least get the chance to add a second trophy in as many seasons to his collection next month when United take on rivals Manchester City in the FA Cup final. It’s the first time since the mid-1880s that two consecutive seasons have produced the same FA Cup finalists. Ten Hag will have his fingers crossed for a different result this time around.
