Ten Hag sack? Man Utd ‘high on the wish list’ of Champions League winner amid ‘past contacts’
Manchester United is ‘high on the wish list’ of former Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel, according to German football expert Christian Falk.
Tuchel will leave Bayern Munich at the end of the season after a string of poor results left the Bavarians eight points behind Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga title race.
The German boss is reportedly eager to find a new job over the summer and is open to returning to the Premier League.
His last role in England came at Chelsea, losing his job in September 2022, a few months after Todd Boehly bought the Blues from Roman Abramovich.
After he led the Blues to Champions League glory a year prior, it was a controversial decision to sack Tuchel, who was out of work until March 2023, when he joined Bayern following the dismissal of Julian Nagelsmann.
Read more: Ranking Todd Boehly’s worst mistakes at Chelsea
Although Manchester United are one of the form teams in the Premier League, there is a lot of talk surrounding the long-term future of Erik ten Hag.
It has been a poor season for the Red Devils after a third-place finish in the league and a Carabao Cup title in Ten Hag’s maiden campaign at Old Trafford.
Fresh doubt over the Dutch manager’s future comes following Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s minority takeover of the club, which will see him take over everything football-related.
The Daily Star have reported that Ten Hag ‘will sit down with his bosses this summer to discuss his future’ as Ratcliffe looks to ‘consult with senior figures before deciding if Erik ten Hag is still the right man to manage the team moving forward into a new era’.
This will be music to the ears of Tuchel, who has the Manchester United job at the top of his summer ‘wish list’, according to Christian Falk.
There has also been talk of a move to Barcelona and Falk says the La Liga club’s sporting director Deco sees Tuchel as ‘the number one successor to Xavi’.
Writing in his CaughtOffside column, the German journalist adds that Tuchel’s representatives have discussed a move with the Red Devils in the past.
‘Thomas Tuchel wants to return to the Premier League in the summer,’ Falk states. ‘Internally at FC Bayern he has said too often what is better in the Premier League. That wasn’t good for his work in Munich.
‘He now has the chance to return to England in the summer. One club that is high on his wish list is Manchester United. There have been contacts with United and Tuchel’s management from time to time in the past.
‘Should Erik ten Hag be sacked, Tuchel would certainly listen to an offer. But United shouldn’t wait too long. FC Barcelona also has a chance with Tuchel if sporting director Deco sees him as the number one successor to Xavi.’
The report adds that United are interested in signing Bayern youngster Mathys Tel, who ‘was considering leaving because of Tuchel’.
Tel’s stance might be different now that the ex-Chelsea favourite is leaving the club, however.
Meanwhile, Ten Hag is also keen on Bayer Leverkusen wing-back Jeremie Frimpong, who has been outstanding under Xabi Alonso – Liverpool and Bayern’s top managerial target – in 2023/24.
Frimpong will be available for €40million (£34million) in the summer transfer window when a release clause in his contract becomes active.
Unsurprisingly, the Red Devils are not the only club interested in signing the Dutch defender. Arsenal have also been strongly linked in recent months.
Falk claims that Ten Hag ‘had his sights set on Frimpong in 2023’ but had reservations over the player’s height.
Those reservations have been eased by the 23-year-old’s output this term, scoring nine goals and providing ten assists in 28 appearances across all competitions.