When Manchester United were courting Thomas Tuchel over the summer, it felt likely that a return to English football was on the cards for the former Chelsea boss.
At the time – Ineos holding talks with several managers despite Erik ten Hag’s FA Cup triumph at the end of May – you would have got very long odds indeed on Thomas Tuchel taking not the Manchester United job but the England national team gig instead.
In one of the most surprising developments of recent times, Tuchel was eventually appointed not as Ten Hag’s replacement but as Gareth Southgate’s.
And, while Tuchel did not give much away when asked about Man United during his unveiling by The Three Lions bosses a few weeks back, it is pretty well documented at this stage that there were a few reasons why he and the Red Devils would never end up shaking hands.
Manchester United were so close to hiring Thomas Tuchel
German publication Bild say, for instance, that Tuchel had concerns that a new sporting structure involving Jason Wilcox as technical director would limit his influence, particularly with regards to recruitment.
Ineos also wanted a more modern interpretation of the managerial role. Hence why Ruben Amorim was announced not as Man United’s new manager but their ‘head coach’.
Tuchel’s agent, the highly-experienced Pini Zahavi, has now provided another peak behind the curtain.
Speaking to Welt am Sonntag, Zahavi explains that the deal to take the former Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain tactician to Old Trafford was almost a done deal at one point.
“If I were Thomas, I would have gone to Manchester United,” Zahavi explains, he and his client clearly having different views about those Red Devils discussions.
“He had the opportunity. Everything was prepared, the deal was basically done.”
Did Tuchel talk himself out of the job? Did the discussions with Sir Jim Ratcliffe and co maybe not go as fruitfully as hoped on both sides?
It is no secret that the German can be a rather prickly character – Tuchel has been likened in manner to Jose Mourinho – and perhaps Ineos wanted a calmer, less combustable option on the touchline.
“Thomas has a spark of genius in him,” Zahavi adds. “But, in today’s football, you have to be wise and a diplomat. He will have to learn that.”
Ruben Amorim and Thomas Tuchel in two of football’s hardest jobs
He certainly will, especially given that the England manager is expected not only to compete for honours but to represent the nation with an almost statesman-like visage.
Say what you want about Gareth Southgate’s tactics, that was a part of the job in which he excelled.
If the role of England’s manager is one of the most high-pressured in sport, then the same is true of the Man United job. Ruben Amorim may be about to find that out the hard way, the incoming boss already taking quite the grilling from a few less-savoury members of the ever-sniping English media.
“I want a team who can control the ball, [and] play without fear,” Amorim said ahead of his first Man United outing against Ipswich Town after the November international break.
“That feeling with my players, the way they celebrate this win, the moment with the fans, was very, very special.
“I will take this to the Premier League. When I arrive there it’s a different world, a different pressure, I will try to be the same. It will be fun, very fun. And I’m ready for the challenge.”
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