Thomas Tuchel is the best candidate to navigate Man Utd minefield - but approaching England boss would put Red Devils on collision course with Football Association

The dearth of top candidates on the market right now explains why United have turned to Carrick as a stop-gap appointment, but there will be far more appealing options come the summer. Andoni Iraola’s contract with Bournemouth expires, as does Oliver Glasner’s deal with Crystal Palace and Marco Silva’s at Fulham. 

Mauricio Pochettino, who lost out to Ten Hag in 2022, will also potentially be looking for work again after he has overseen the United States at their home World Cup, while Xabi Alonso and Enzo Maresca profile as the best out-of-work options right now. 

Tuchel, though, is the man who United should be going for. The German has an incredible knack for getting positive results in no time at all, while pressure has never seemed to get to him.

He was undaunted by replacing Jurgen Klopp at Borussia Dortmund, finishing second and third in the Bundesliga and winning the DFB-Pokal in his two seasons. He then won back-to-back Ligue 1 titles with Paris Saint-Germain and reached the Champions League final, imposing his authority on the most pampered squad in football.

Tuchel transformed Chelsea’s fortunes after succeeding Frank Lampard, winning the Champions League within four months before reaching three domestic cup finals. He then reeled in Dortmund in the title race within weeks of taking over at Bayern, and although he became the first coach in 11 years to surrender the Bundesliga title the following season, he came agonisingly close to reaching another Champions League final. 

Tuchel has overcome intense criticism and scrutiny as the first foreign England coach in more than a decade by presiding over a record-breaking World Cup qualifying campaign, winning every competitive match without conceding a goal. He has cleverly instilled fierce internal competition and shown that he will not be swayed by star power.

From the fans’ point of view, there is a lot to like about Tuchel. He is one of the best in-game coaches in the world, rivalled only by Pep Guardiola for his ability to tweak his team’s shape for the better. His adaptability, which he first showed by overachieving with Mainz, should also appeal to United supporters frustrated by the dogmatic Amorim. While the Portuguese talked of needing several years to get things right at Old Trafford, Tuchel normally needs just a few weeks to get the desired results.

The downside of getting Tuchel is that he tends to not stick around for more than a couple of years. As he joked in his unveiling as England coach, "I’m working on my long-term game," but his short-term outlook is good for United as he seems to already have an exit plan from the England role after refusing to commit beyond the World Cup.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the rest of the United board of directors might be wary of Tuchel given his habit of standing up to owners and doing things his way, but the mess left by Amorim’s confrontation with Jason Wilcox should force them to reconsider the way they run the club.

"You stop the cycle by getting a really strong, big character in and letting him do the job," Alan Shearer told Betfair. "It’s no coincidence that the three clubs at the top – [Aston] Villa, [Manchester] City, and Arsenal – are all basically run by their managers. They have directors of football, but they work in sync. That has to happen at Man United to get them anywhere near where they want to be."

At some point, Ratcliffe has to decide whether he wants to be in control of a sinking ship or play a delegating role at a club that is actually going places and competing for trophies. The latter route would mean a man with a very large ego swallowing his pride, but it would also be a far better outcome for his image, provided Tuchel is able to get the results which evaded Amorim and Ten Hag before him.

But even if Ratcliffe decides that Tuchel should be his man, hiring him would not be without risk. If England were to reach the World Cup final, then Tuchel would have less than five weeks to prepare for the coming season. That would be far from ideal, but it would be just about worth it given the coach’s calibre and track record. A deal would, however, need to be in place in advance of the tournament, which could potentially pit the Football Association (FA) and Tuchel against each other. 

Tuchel agreeing to take charge of United for next season would undoubtedly be interpreted as a giant distraction during the World Cup, and it would surely be cited by the media as the main reason if the Three Lions had a disappointing tournament, which essentially comes down to winning it or not.

There are various precedents of big-name international coaches taking club jobs before tournaments, with very different outcomes. United had hired Louis van Gaal as David Moyes’ successor before the 2014 World Cup, and the coach’s strong performance in Brazil in charge of the Netherlands, who thrashed Spain 5-1 and reached the semi-finals, only made Red Devils fans more excited about him taking over. 

Italy also had little problem with Antonio Conte agreeing to become Chelsea coach before Euro 2016, where he defied expectations and led Italy to knock Spain out before being eliminated by Germany on penalties. But when Julen Lopetegui agreed to become Real Madrid coach on the eve of the 2018 World Cup, all hell broke loose. 

The Spain coach was sacked before the tournament begun, La Roja endure a shock elimination to Russia in the last 16 under caretaker Fernando Hierro, and Lopetegui’s adventure at Madrid lasted less than three months. The main difference was the lack of agreement between Lopetegui and the Spanish federation chief Luis Rubiales over when the deal should have been announced; Lopetegui had only recently agreed to extend his contract with Spain and Rubiales, who showed his true colours with his monstrous behaviour at the 2023 Women’s World Cup and its aftermath, could not stand looking weak.

England would not comment on Tuchel’s future or contract situation when contacted by GOAL, but the key difference between him and Lopetegui is he has been very transparent about the fact he has never looked beyond the World Cup.

Needless to say it is a situation which would have to be managed carefully. There is also the potential irony of United having to negotiate with Dan Ashworth, who has returned to the FA as chief football officer since being fired by Ratcliffe just five months after becoming the Red Devils’ director of football. 

Ratcliffe is believed to have fired Ashworth after being less than impressed by his shortlist of candidates to succeed Ten Hag, which reports claim exclusively comprised coaches with Premier League experience. The fact that United are now said to be only looking at Premier League-ready coaches to succeed Amorim highlights the lack of clarity at the club, not to mention the financial waste as United have spent over £40m in the last 15 months on sacking Ten Hag and Ashworth, and hiring and firing the Portuguese. 

Tuchel would unquestionably be an elite hire. The only questions are whether United are willing to alter their own structure to appeal to him and whether they have the stomach for the blowback they would get for undermining the national team before a World Cup. But if they want the best chance of making United a winning machine again, they cannot afford to overlook Tuchel.