Manchester United’s hopes of landing Thomas Tuchel might be over, but the England boss has shown serious validation for one key Ineos call made.
Thomas Tuchel was tipped as a Manchester United candidate for the vacant head coach role after Ruben Amorim was sacked by the Premier League club.
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The 52-year-old German would have been out of contract with England after the 2026 World Cup until United fans were hit with the reality of Thursday’s news.
United-linked Tuchel inked his long-term future with England and ended the Red Devils’ hopes of landing the Three Lions boss as a free agent in the summer.
The England manager, who succeeded Sir Gareth Southgate for his current role in 2025, will now be expected to lead the Three Lions to Euro 2028.
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Thomas Tuchel’s praise for Kobbie Mainoo proves that Ineos made the right decision with the Man Utd star
Thomas Tuchel praised Kobbie Mainoo and other Manchester United players ahead of the March international break and England’s upcoming World Cup campaign.
Kobbie Mainoo was a key player for England at Euro 2024 under Sir Gareth Southgate, but the United midfielder had fallen out of favour with the Three Lions.
The 20-year-old England star has not represented the Three Lions since 2024 and injuries and his time under Ruben Amorim prevented his return to the national team.
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“It is great that he [Mainoo] is back on the pitch,” Tuchel said, as per The Athletic.
“He is such a huge talent. He has played already a tournament from start to finish for England, so he is back in the picture, so is Luke Shaw, and so is Harry [Maguire].
“There are some players suddenly back in the picture; they play a back four now and play with a different style, which is a bit easier to translate to our structure at the moment. It’s good competition.”
Mainoo has been enjoying a resurgence in form in the post-Amorim era of the Premier League club after the former United manager was sacked last month.
Michael Carrick has started the Red Devils talent in all five of his Premier League matches as Man Utd interim manager so far since his January appointment.
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Kobbie Mainoo had not started a single Premier League match under Amorim in the current campaign, with the Red Devils midfielder left fighting for first-team minutes.
The United youth academy product’s future at Old Trafford appeared so bleak at one point that Mainoo reportedly asked to leave the Premier League club last September.
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Napoli were heavily linked with United midfielder Mainoo, who wanted a loan move away to secure regular first-team football ahead of the World Cup in North America.
However, Ineos made the major call to shut down Mainoo’s transfer request and called for the England international to fight for his place at the Premier League club.
Amorim’s sacking at Man Utd is arguably the major – and fortunate – event that has benefited Mainoo the most in getting back into the United starting XI this season.
Tuchel’s praise for a revitalised Mainoo under Michael Carrick is the biggest validation of all for the powerful and important decision that Ineos ultimately made.
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