Manchester United have decided against an ambitious swoop for Thomas Tuchel in a move which resigns them to taking a gamble with their next managerial appointment.
The Red Devils had been prepared to capitalise on the chaos at Chelsea following Roman Abramovich's sanctioning to try and prise Tuchel away from Stamford Bridge. The German is highly rated having led the Blues to Champions League glory last year and a strong position in this season's Premier League top-four race.
However, Old Trafford chiefs have decided it would be too tricky to pull off a swoop for Tuchel, 48, and have instead begun interviewing other potential options to take over this summer. Ajax manager Erik ten Hag, 52, was the first to face the questions of United football director John Murtough and technical director Darren Fletcher on Monday.
The discussion with the Dutchman is due to be followed by interviews with Paris Saint-Germain's Mauricio Pochettino, Sevilla's Julen Lopetegui and Spain's Luis Enrique. There is certainly no shortage of quality on the four-man shortlist for the United vacancy, as fans would expect given United's status as a global footballing powerhouse.
However, each of the four candidates has a question mark hanging over them that Tuchel does not. Take, for example, Pochettino, who has long been considered Ten Hag's main rival to replace Ralf Rangnick at the end of the season. While the Argentine, 50, has a host of admirers having led Tottenham to second-placed finishes in the Premier League and Champions League, his time with Paris Saint-Germain has been hugely underwhelming.
The French giants have a runaway lead in Ligue 1 but suffered a heavy defeat by Monaco on Sunday to sum up a season which has seen them dumped out of the Champions League and Coupe de France in disastrous fashion. Pochettino has clearly struggled to manage a squad filled with superstars such as Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, naturally raising questions of how he would cope with Cristiano Ronaldo and Co. at United.
Ten Hag, the other frontrunner for the United hot seat, has not suffered with the poor results or dressing room disharmony Pochettino has endured this season. Although Ajax were eliminated from the Champions League by Benfica last week, they remain on course to defend their Eredivisie and Dutch Cup crowns. Instead, the concern surrounding Ten Hag relates to his relatively modest CV.
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His only management role outside of his native Netherlands was a stint with Bayern Munich's reserves between 2013 and 2015, so it would be a huge step up for him to take over one of the biggest clubs in Europe's top five leagues. Similar doubts can be raised about Lopetegui's credentials after his Sevilla side crashed out of the Europa League against West Ham last week.
The 55-year-old is still trying to shrug off the unwanted reputation from his horror, 14-game stint in charge of Real Madrid in 2018, which came after he lost the Spain job on the eve of that year's World Cup due to his agreement with Los Blancos. Lopetegui has since gone some way to improving his standing as Sevilla sit second in La Liga this season and also won the Europa League in 2020.
In contrast to Pochettino, Ten Hag and Lopetegui, the final manager on United's shortlist is one with unquestionable quality proven while working at a giant club. Enrique, 51, has built on his acclaimed playing career with a successful transition into coaching, famously leading Barcelona to the continental treble of La Liga, the Copa del Rey and Champions League in the 2014/15 season. He has since taken charge of Spain, leading them to the Euro 2020 semi-finals and the 2020/21 Nations League final.
Enrique's situation is perhaps the most intriguing of any manager on the shortlist. While there is a sense Ten Hag, Pochettino and Lopetegui would up sticks and leave their current roles for United if they were offered the job, the same cannot be said for Enrique ahead of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar this winter. So, having turned away from Tuchel, United chiefs have left themselves with a select group of candidates and a great deal of uncertainty ahead of an appointment they simply cannot afford to get wrong.
