Krishnan Sreekumar
Manchester United add Chelsea’s Thomas Tuchel and Sevilla’s Julen Lopetegui to their managerial shortlist
According to The Guardian, Manchester United have added Chelsea’s Thomas Tuchel and Sevilla’s Julen Lopetegui to their managerial shortlist ahead of the new season as they ramp up their efforts to find a replacement for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Ralf Rangnick was roped in from Lokomotiv Moscow on an interim basis to manage the club until the summer and guide them to a top-four finish, as the side sacked Solskjaer after a poor run of form saw them slip down the Premier League table.
The German is expected to make way for a new, permanent manager ahead of the new season as United look to usher in a new era, and look back to winning trophies from next term with a new boss in charge of the squad.
The club has been preparing a shortlist of candidates that they are monitoring ahead of making a decision on who their new head coach is, and now Tuchel and Lopetegui have been added to it after impressing this season at Chelsea and Sevilla respectively.
Elite candidates shortlisted
Chelsea have been put in crisis after the UK government imposed sanctions on their owner Roman Abramovich, which has led to Tuchel’s future being uncertain. Sevilla, meanwhile, have had an excellent season this term, punching above their weight as they sit second in the La Liga table.
Apart from the pair, United’s senior officials have also earmarked three other candidates, with Paris Saint-Germain’s Mauricio Pochettino, Erik ten Hag of Ajax, and Spain national team boss Luis Enrique included in the shortlist. With the Red Devils intent on having a new manager in charge for the start of next season, the race to sign one of these names is on.
Amongst the names, Enrique could be a bit more difficult to land as he takes Spain to the 2022 World Cup which starts in Qatar in November. Taking your country to the finals of a World Cup event is perhaps the highest honour a manager can receive and it remains to be seen if he wants to jeopardize it for managing us. Meanwhile, the other bosses are all under contract with their respective clubs at least until next year.
Between the two new entrants on the shortlist, Tuchel’s name stands out over Lopetegui. Aside from the German being in charge of Premier League rivals Chelsea, the manager has also been extremely successful in west London, helping them to Champions League, Super Cup, and Club World Cup titles in the recent past.
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His CV is definitely impressive, and so is ten Hag’s from his time at Ajax. The Dutchman is on course to lead the Eredivisie giants to a hat-trick of league titles this term, with Ajax currently on top of the table.
Trophies have gone missing at Old Trafford in over five years now, which was confirmed by United’s exit in the Champions League to Atletico Madrid. Having an elite manager with a trophy history is vital, and the club certainly has narrowed their list down to some big names. Hopefully, we see one of them in the dugout next season.
