Manchester United: The Pros and Cons of Hiring Thomas Tuchel

Manchester United and Erik ten Hag's relationship may be coming to an end. Although there have been some reports that the Dutchman will continue at the helm, nothing has been made official yet. Off the back of United's worst-ever start to a domestic league campaign after seven games, coupled with lukewarm results in the Europa League, the calls for Ten Hag to be sacked have become louder and louder. Reports have tabbed Thomas Tuchel as the most likely appointment after the former Champions League winner had previous talks with INEOS last May.

Tuchel brings with him a wealth of experience, having previously been at the helm of some of Europe's biggest clubs, but he also comes with the perception of having a combustible personality that seemingly cut short his time at each of his previous posts.

Let's review the pros and cons of hiring Thomas Tuchel.

He's won everywhere he's been

Very few available managers, if any, have a resume equaling Thomas Tuchel. The German tactician's first-team managerial record, which features stops in the Bundesliga, Ligue 1, and the Premier League, includes 327 wins, 103 draws, and 138 losses. He won the French League twice with Paris Saint-Germain, the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich, and the Champions League with Chelsea.

Although valid questions will be asked if Tuchel is the right man long-term for United, few can argue that he doesn't immediately raise the floor and standard for a squad that finished in eighth place in the Premier League last season. Since his appointment as manager for Borussia Dortmund during the 2015-2016 campaign, Tuchel's teams never finished below fourth place in their respective leagues. This impressive run included two back-to-back Champions League finals with PSG and Chelsea.

He's flexible with his tactics

Tuchel has employed numerous formations with the various teams he's managed. Central to his philosophy is control and possession in the midfield. At Dortmund, Tuchel utilised Julian Wiegl in a similar mould to Michael Carrick, as he valued precision and patience in passing. However, according to pythagorasinboots.com, at PSG, Tuchel reportedly used 10 different formations during one season and shifted his midfield philosophy to include players that were strong in defense like Ander Herrera. Overall, Tuchel appreciates players who can process a lot of information and think on their feet.

At Chelsea, Tuchel often opted for three at the back with wing-backs like Reece James and Ben Chilwell in support of both, the attack and defense. With that structure, crosses into the penalty box become a priority as the wing-backs try to pull opposing midfielders from their central positions . During Tuchel's lone full season in charge, the Blues ranked fifth in the league in crosses (745), and third in xG (63.4), per FBref.

He's worn out his welcome at every stop

Based on his history, no one will confuse Tuchel for Mr. Rogers anytime soon. Reportedly, the firey German has had run-ins with upper management at Dortmund, PSG, and Chelsea. His exit from Bayern appeared more amicable, as there was a shared understanding that the goals for the German heavyweights were not reached during his tenure. A fair criticism of Tuchel can be said that if he's frustrated, he doesn't hide his emotions and has not shied away from speaking his mind to the media - being publicly critical of recruitment decisions made above him. This happened at both Dortmund and PSG.

That being said, a closer look at some of the splits from these clubs suggests that Tuchel may not have been wrong in some of those situations. In my opinion, Tuchel had a legitimate and valid gripe with Chelsea and then majority owner Todd Boehly. The Blues had removed their club director (Marina Granovskaia) and technical advisor (Petr Cech), which required Tuchel to be more involved in transfers and other activities outside of coaching. Although managers wear different hats at the professional level, it is understandable that Tuchel was frustrated with the club's lack of structure, which clearly didn't help Tuchel's eventual successor, Graham Potter. Potter was dismissed from the job in less than a calendar year.

Recruitment record is spotty

For comparison purposes, I'm only going to use transfers Tuchel made at PSG, Chelsea, and Bayern Munich, as their resources are the only ones comparable to a club like Manchester United. Of course, the major transfer during his time with PSG was landing Kylian Mbappe for €180 million from AS Monaco. Outside of Keylor Navas and Mauro Icardi, it's hard to point to any other players who made a significant impact during Tuchel's tenure, and none of the aforementioned players are currently with the squad.

With Chelsea, Tuchel's main signings included Romelu Lukaku, Raheem Sterling, Marc Cucurella, and Wesley Fofana. The Lukaku re-signing was largely a failure, as the Belgian international scored just eight goals in the Premier League and two goals in the Champions League. And although Sterling was productive, questions of his fit with other players on the squad always seemed present leading to his departure this past summer.

It's also fair to ask if Tuchel would be committed to the youth movement and direction that United's co-owners INEOS have taken. The oldest player United purchased during this past summer's transfer window was Noussai Mazraoui, who is 26.

Overall, the argument for hiring Tuchel presents pretty clear evidence that Manchester United would benefit and be a better football club in the short-term. In the same breath, it's fair to wonder if those initial positive results would translate into long-term success.

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