Why Man Utd interest in Thomas Tuchel is bad news for ‘angry’ Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui

Manchester United are ready to turn to Thomas Tuchel if they decide to cut ways with Erik ten Hag this week.

Tuchel, who has previously worked at Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea, and most recently Bayern Munich, was interviewed for the position at Old Trafford in the summer before the club opted to continue with the Dutchman.

United have had a horrible start to the season, with poor displays against Tottenham and Porto last week putting pressure on Ten Hag. While a goalless draw against Aston Villa on Sunday might grant a reprieve from execution, United are examining other possibilities.

Tuchel has once again emerged as the main candidate to succeed Ten Hag. The German is presently a free agent after departing Bayern at the conclusion of the 2023-24 season, as announced by the club in February. His stay in Munich lasted only 15 months.

Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui, two of United’s key summer recruits, joined from Bayern in August. Their time under Tuchel at the Allianz Arena was not always easy.

De Ligt began the 2023-24 season as the third-choice behind Kim Min-Jae and Dayot Upamecano, and did not play until late September.

What can I say about that? I haven’t played much in the previous four games, which is dreadful and obviously not great. “Of course, I always want to play,” de Ligt replied, frustrated.

According to Munich-based newspaper TZ, Tuchel’s reluctance to play de Ligt, the club’s second most expensive defender, was due to his ball-playing abilities.

According to the article, Tuchel liked ball-playing centre-backs capable of bringing play out from the back, something Upamecano and Kiim excel at, as opposed to de Ligt, whose abilities may be more conventional in defending. Tuchel allegedly objected to de Ligt’s preference for sideways passing after instructing his players to go through the lines vertically and quickly.

With Kim on Asian Cup duty at the start of the year, de Ligt’s opportunities increased, with the Netherlands international starting six of the first seven Bundesliga matches of 2024.He was benched during that run for the key game against Bayer Leverkusen, which Xabi Alonso’s team won 3-0, marking a significant step forward in their pursuit of the Bundesliga title. Eric Dier, Tottenham’s January addition, started with Upamecano and Kim that day, ahead of de Ligt.

Bild stated that de Ligt was ‘mad’ with the decision and told reporters that he was not injured. According to the magazine, de Ligt believed he had always ‘been dealt a poor hand’ by the former Chelsea manager, with the ‘bitter decision’ proving Tuchel’s dislike for him.

Following the setback, the German coach revealed that de Ligt was not the best fit for his intentions to push the opponents high up the pitch, asking the former Ajax sensation to ‘battle for his spot’.’At Bayern, we’ll constantly consider who suits best against a certain opponent. We wanted to push incredibly high up the pitch against Leverkusen, therefore we went with Kim, Upamecano, and Eric Dier in the middle,’ Tuchel explained.

‘At Bayern, you simply battle for your position. It’s a very regular circumstance. Unfortunately, Bayern does not follow what should be usual. We have four players vying for two seats. It’s true that Matthijs has been behind lately, but he’s not behind in our gratitude.

Mazraoui was one of United’s few success stories early in the season, playing almost every minute at right-back before being substituted at half-time against Aston Villa on Sunday.

Under Tuchel, the Morocco international made only 24 starts in all competitions last season, during which he also battled injuries. Konrad Laimer was widely preferred at right back.