Chelsea ownership hopeful Nick Candy has sent a subtle warning to Manchester United that he would have every intention of keeping Thomas Tuchel as manager were he to be successful in replacing Roman Abramovich.
The German has been linked with a departure from Stamford Bridge as a result of the sanctions brought against Abramovich by the UK government, leaving the future of the club up in the air. Manchester United are set to appoint Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's permanent replacement following Ralph Rangnick's spell in the summer and Tuchel has been linked with the seat at Old Trafford.
Candy is leading a consortium in the race to buy Chelsea from the Russian, with the deadline for bid having now past. The billionaire has spoken out in the press about the brilliance of Tuchel and just how impressed he has been with him on and off the pitch.
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“Thomas Tuchel has done an incredible job at a very difficult time in the last few weeks," Candy said in an interview with The Sun. "He’s spoken brilliantly, behaved brilliantly and is a true gent.
“It’s one thing being a great manager, it’s a different thing being a great human being. But he’s proven that he’s not just a great manager but a brilliant human being.
“He’s got the respect of the media, he’s got the respect of the players, he’s got the respect of the fans, so all credit to him.”
While Tuchel has been a huge success at Stamford Bridge, winning the Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup in less than 12 months at the helm, Abramovich was never shy to change things up when results started to take a dip.
Candy admits that he did not always agree with his decision-making, but admired his willingness to make those big decisions at tough times. It is something he hinted he would also bring to the role.
“In business, you have to make the right decisions at the right time. It’s a testament to how many trophies are in the cabinet that, actually, probably those were the right decisions and Roman was quick to make them," he continued.
“Sometimes I may not have agreed with them myself. I think with Frank [Lampard] he went a bit too early and probably watching the Champions League being picked up at the end of the season was quite difficult for him.
“But he loves Chelsea, so at the same time it was probably a nice thing to see as he put some of the foundations in.”
