'He comes with baggage' – Manchester United fans warned Thomas Tuchel may not be the answer if Erik ten Hag sacked
Today at 09:45 AM
Erik ten Hag is under mounting pressure at Manchester United and the likely names to replace him are already emerging.
Ten Hag's United were thrashed 3-0 at Old Trafford by Tottenham on Sunday in a new low for the club.
It has been a dismal start to the season and talkSPORT understands he has just two games to prove himself.
Ruud van Nistelrooy has been tipped as a ready-made replacement already at the club – and talkSPORT readers agree. Some 40 per cent have backed him to be the next Man United manager should Ten Hag be sacked.
The second favourite among fans is former Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel, who is still without a job.
Tuchel left Bayern Munich this summer after failing to win any silverware.
German football pundit Marcel Reif revealed that at one point United had all-but agreed to hire Tuchel this summer.
But the German pulled out of talks at the last minute.
Should Ten Hag go, then Champions League winner Tuchel will crop up again as one of the best managers available on the market.
However, talkSPORT host Jason Cundy warned earlier this year that he comes with plenty of 'baggage'.
He said: "He will fall out with someone. He falls out with everyone.
"Eventually, he'll move on because he’s not easy, a bit like [Antonio] Conte, he’s not easy to get on with.
When trophies are coming in, perfect, as soon as those little performances start to dip, one or two things don’t go right, and then all of a sudden he starts having a pop at people, there's a pattern there."
Tuchel has an impressive collection of silverware during his time as a head coach.
Most notably, he led Chelsea to Champions League and Super Cup glory in 2021 but has also won the Bundesliga as Bayern boss, Ligue 1 and the German Cup.
Ten Hag will have games at Porto in the Europa League and Aston Villa in the Premier League to save his job before the international break.
Asked if he was worried his bosses might be having second thoughts, Ten Hag said: “No, I am not thinking about this. I think we all made together this decision to stay together, as an ownership, as a leadership group in the summer.
“Also we made the decision from a clear review what we have to improve as an organisation and how we want to construct a squad and all the decision-making is with togetherness.
“But we knew it will take some time, because of how the (transfer) window went, some players late in like (Manuel) Ugarte, also we have to make some improvement in the organisation, we still have to deal with some injuries, also from some impact players.
“I think we will get better there. We need some time. We are all on one page or in one boat together, the ownership, the leadership group, the staff and the players group as well. I don’t have that concern.”
