Manchester United fans still don’t know who will be in charge next season as Ineos continue to weigh up the future of boss Erik ten Hag.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has been striking deals behind the scenes but now faces his biggest decision since taking charge of football operations at Old Trafford.
Anybody could see that Manchester United regressed in Erik ten Hag’s second season at the helm.
United finished eighth this past season, dropping from a third-place finish in the 2022-23 campaign.
The season was littered with poor performance across the Premier League and Champions League, leaving Ten Hag under major pressure.
The United boss did though win the FA Cup final in May and has given himself a real chance of earning another chance in the Old Trafford dugout.
United are though being linked with other managers with Ratcliffe and Ineos potentially looking to bring their own man to the club.
Thomas Tuchel meets with Sir Jim Ratcliffe
A number of managers have been mentioned, including Mauricio Pochettino and Gareth Southgate.
Then there is Thomas Tuchel, who is available this summer having moved on from Bayern Munich.
The German has Premier League experience with Chelsea and even won the Champions League during his time at Stamford Bridge.
There have been mixed reports about United’s level of interest in Tuchel with some suggesting that he is the frontrunner if Ten Hag departs.
Other rumours claim that United aren’t entirely sure about Tuchel and decision-makers have questioned whether he is the right man for the job.
Sport BILD’s Christian Falk now reports that Tuchel met with Ratcliffe just a matter of days ago to discuss the United job.
It’s stated that Tuchel has specifically pinpointed Jadon Sancho and Mason Mount as players that he can get back on track.
Tuchel feels that he completely turned Antonio Rudiger around at Chelsea and thinks that he can do the same with Sancho and Mount.
Sancho has been completely frozen out by Ten Hag and Tuchel has allegedly informed Ratcliffe of his plans to turn the situation around.
Tuchel and Sancho didn’t cross paths at Borussia Dortmund but the German did coach Mount at Chelsea, winning the Champions League in 2021.
Mount is far from a lost cause but he endured an injury-hit first season at United and needs to bounce back next season.
Reuniting with Tuchel could help and Ratcliffe may well be attracted by the idea of Tuchel revitalising two of United’s most expensive players.
Tuchel past comments on Manchester United’s Mason Mount
Mount racked up 87 appearances under Tuchel and hit 19 goals alongside 19 assists with the German in charge.
Most of those games were as a number 10, but Tuchel did move him around, playing him as a central midfielder and even using him out wide at times.
Mount may love the idea of playing under Tuchel again especially having been praised by him in the past.
Tuchel praised Mount as a ‘team player’ in 2021, suggesting that he will always give his all on the pitch.
“We had no doubt he had potential and was the team player he is,” said Tuchel. “We watched the team and he was a regular starter with Frank. We did not choose him for the first game because we opted for a slightly different profile for the two number 10 positions. When he came in, he showed what a big influence he can have from the bench.”
“You can be very sure that Mason leaves his heart on the pitch for Chelsea and this is what we need. He is an absolute team player and still young. Is there a lot of room to improve? Yes, even for him,” he added.
It is no surprise that Mount played a key role under Tuchel and the pair may yet reunite in Manchester.
Tuchel is now left to wait and see whether Ineos do decide to replace Ten Hag, having seemingly stated his case for a Premier League comeback.