Manchester United go into the final weekend of the Premier League season with the prospect of their lowest placed-finish in the competition’s history.
The Red Devils sit eighth in the table and they must better Newcastle United’s result against Brentford when they visit Brighton on Sunday to avoid the ignominy of a worst-ever Premier League finish and their worst league campaign since 1990.
While they do have an FA Cup final against bitter rivals Manchester City coming up, it has been a hugely disappointing season for the Red Devils, who have failed to build on last season’s third-place finish.
It should be little surprise, therefore, that manager Erik ten Hag finds himself under extreme pressure in the Old Trafford dugout.
This will be the first summer where Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his Ineos team are driving the football operations at Manchester United following the billionaire’s minority investment was completed earlier this year.
Speculation is rife that Ratcliffe will decide to clean house this summer and dispense of the former Ajax boss, with a number of potential candidates to take over from Ten Hag being reported.
Former Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has been linked with the role, but a potential Bayern Munich u-turn could be a blow to Ratcliffe and the Red Devils.
The German side announced in February that Tuchel would be leaving the club this summer, a year earlier than originally planned, with the club looking to ‘oursue a new footballing direction’.
Since the departure was announced, Bayern have gone on to lose their Bundesliga crown to Bayer Leverkusen, while Real Madrid knocked them out of the Champions League, meaning this will be the club’s first season without a trophy since 2011/12.
However, Bayern have since struggled to find a successor to Tuchel. Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso turned down the advances of both Bayern and Liverpool, while Ralf Rangnick has opted to remain with the Austrian national team.
Now, Bayern are ready to go back on their decision as they are reportedly trying to reach an agreement with the 50-year-old to keep him on as manager.
According to the Independent, Tuchel will only sign on again if he is given assurances on two specific signings, as he wants to bring in a number six and a playmaker.
Tuchel has cited the failed move for Fulham’s Joao Palhinha at the end of the summer window as a key moment in Bayern’s disappointing season, while he is also said to want to sign Bruno Fernandes.
The likes of England boss Gareth Southgate, Brentford boss Thomas Frank and Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna have also been linked with the role.
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