Tuchel to Man Utd: INEOS transfer policy ruined deal for Ten Hag replacement

Tom Weber

Updated: 6 Sept 2024 11:04 BST
4 min read

Thomas Tuchel, Erik ten Hag, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Man Utd — © IMAGO

Thomas Tuchel walked away from the talks with Manchester United due to concerns over INEOS' transfer policy, according to German media.

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The former Bayern and Chelsea boss was considered the top option to replace Erik ten Hag after the bygone season. The Dutchman's job as Man Utd manager was on the line and there were active talks with Tuchel behind the scenes.

However, the German eventually walked away from the negotiations, leaving Sir Jim Ratcliffe and company with few suitable options. After a two-week end-of-season review, Ten Hag was kept on board and had his contract extended following a surprising win over Man City in the FA Cup final.

The start of the new campaign has been anything but positive for Ten Hag. The Red Devils lost to City in the Community Shield and failed to secure points against Brighton and Liverpool, only managing to scrape past Fulham on opening day.

This has once again piled the pressure on the 54-year-old. While FootballTransfers understands that assistant coach Ruud van Nistelrooy has been earmarked as his compatriot's natural successor, some have claimed that Tuchel remains Ratcliffe's top option.

Tuchel at Man Utd - would it work?

German media, however, casts doubt on Tuchel's readiness to take the Man Utd job under INEOS. Pundit Marcel Reif claims to have spoken to sources close to the negotiations with the Red Devils and states that the tactician left the talks due to his unwillingness to work in the structure put in place by Ratcliffe.

The INEOS chief has completely revamped Man Utd's upper echelons and recruitment department, hiring Omar Berrada as CEO, Jason Wilcox as technical director, Dan Ashworth as sporting director and Christopher Vivell as interim head of recruitment.

Reif claims that Tuchel is of the opinion that too many cooks spoil the broth. After working at Bayern under a host of different directors and board members, the 51-year-old wants to have a real say when it comes to recruitment.

"I would have bet a lot of money on Thomas Tuchel replacing him [Ten Hag] and going [to Man Utd]," Reif said. "I recently spoke to someone familiar with the situation and he told me that an agreement was indeed close.

"But then, when it also came to the squad, there were differing points of view and then Tuchel said, almost right at the finish line, 'no, I'm not doing it, I'm not going to a club again where things come from the outside.'

Asked whether Tuchel and Man Utd could pick up talks again in the future, Reif responded: "Tuchel is not a firefighter. Tuchel wants to build something and for this, you need a full transfer window, you need to change things.

But you don't need to be a prophet to see that Ten Hag at United won't work out even in the medium term."