How Chelsea could have lined up under Ten Hag
FT Desk
- Updated: 21 Apr 2022 15:04 BST
- 4 min read
Erik ten Hag has been announced as Manchester United's new head coach, taking the place of interim manager Ralf Rangnick in the dugout next season.
The Old Trafford side had been searching for a permanent manager since the sacking of former player Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and settled on the Dutchman after deliberation over the possibility of attracting Mauricio Pochettino from Paris Saint-Germain.
But, with Ten Hag at the helm there is considerable optimism that he will be able to stop the slide Man Utd have experienced in recent years, and guide them back towards the summit of the Premier League table.
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A large amount of trust has been placed in Ten Hag as the man to achieve that, but given his experiences at Ajax, there's no better candidate available to Man Utd in world football.
Ten Hag has been able to rebuild his Ajax team several times and keep them competitive in both the Eredivisie and the Champions League which is no mean feat.
However, with those achievements in Amsterdam it's perhaps surprising that no other clubs were in the running for him. Brief Barcelona rumours floated about a couple of years ago, but they are now settled with Xavi, and there aren't many other managerial posts at elite clubs available.
So, Old Trafford was the only real destination for Ten Hag, although given the fact Man Utd likely won't be in the Champions League next year, and Ajax will, it's perhaps not a huge leap forward.
One club that might've been considered a leap forward is Chelsea. The current reigning European champions are out of that competition following their exit to Real Madrid and could be dragged into a top four battle thanks to a 4-2 home defeat to Arsenal.
Thomas Tuchel has been simply superb in West London since arriving and has taken them to six finals during his time at the club. However, his decisions in the aforementioned loss to Arsenal were criticised and his future at Chelsea even came into question online by some fans.
It's a very unlikely scenario given how well he's performed at the club, but with Chelsea's history of firing managers quickly and the fact a trophy won't be arriving back to Stamford Bridge unless they are victorious in the FA Cup final, Tuchel's future is at least in a tiny bit of doubt.
Chelsea were never linked with Ten Hag following Tuchel's incredible time in charge, but if the Dutchman was appointed Blues head coach instead of the same role at Man Utd, how would Chelsea have lined up next season?
How would Chelsea have lined up with Ten Hag in charge in the 2022/23 season?
Removing Tuchel in place of Ten Hag would've resulted in a shift of formation. With the Dutchman in charge, the 3-4-3 system would be removed in favour of the more common 4-2-3-1, which is Ten Hag's preferred formation.
With Ten Hag's tendency to give youth a chance the likes of Conor Gallagher, Armando Broja, Levi Colwill and even perhaps Billy Gilmour would have opportunities, but they'd still be limited to the bench.
In addition, Jurrien Timber, Ten Hag's newest centre-back project after Davinson Sanchez and Matthijs de Ligt, and Antony would be two targets for Chelsea, as they currently are for Man Utd.
Aurelien Tchouameni is on Chelsea and Ten Hag's radar, according to ESPN, so the signing Frenchman would make perfect.
Reunited with Hakim Ziyech, Ten Hag would give the Moroccan a new lease of life, although it would be from the left flank to utilise his wicked crosses and allow Ben Chilwell to keep the width while Ziyech drifts inside.
