Thomas Tuchel has already made his feelings clear about Manchester United.
Tuchel is set to leave Bayern Munich at the end of the season as part of "a sporting realignment" at the club.
The German led the Bavarian giants to last season’s Bundesliga title, but this term sees his side trail unbeaten leaders Bayer Leverkusen by eight points with 12 games remaining.
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Naturally, Tuchel, who won the Champions League with Chelsea in 2021, has been tentatively linked to several jobs across Europe, including Liverpool and Barcelona’s soon-to-be-vacant managerial posts.
Elsewhere, the likes of Chelsea, West Ham, and Brighton are among the clubs that could be in the market for a new head coach at the end of the season.
But Tuchel’s comments from earlier this season, in which he talks up Old Trafford and United’s “aura”, have suggested the 50-year-old may be open to a United move, should Erik ten Hag depart the club.
“They are always a dangerous team, in my experience it is always very, very dangerous to play Manchester United,’ Tuchel said in December, ahead of a Champions League encounter between Bayern and United.
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“They have a certain aura, they have a certain mentality that makes them always very difficult to beat. They can endure difficult phases in their matches, I feel this is part of the DNA of the club that they can overcome difficult minutes, and difficult phases in a match and still win and still steal points.
“They’ve scored a high, high number – the highest number of goals in the group so far – they have conceded also because they don’t have enough points for the goals that they score. It is a bit of an up-and-down for them. In the matches, they looked very, very clear and safe in Galatasaray for a very long time and lost control of it, that can happen. We had no control in the first half, it was a bit of the opposite for Man United in their game.
“You see in their strong moments how strong they are. The stadium, of course, plays a big role, the spectators are emotional, and the stage and the stadium create special moments, it’s a difficult place to come and play but it’s a very, very good challenge for us.
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“For me personally, I think a game at Manchester United is always a big game. It cannot be described any other way. It’s a big stage, a big club, one of the biggest stages in world football, it has a certain aura and electricity around it.
“To prepare is we make it for ourselves very easy, we prepare for the best moments, prepare ourselves for the best Man United team, there are a lot of good moments, like I said when they are good they are really good and very dangerous in all positions and tough to play.
“For us, we will prepare for the best Manchester United then hopefully we play a part and they underperform.”
Featured Image Credit: GettyTopics: Manchester United, Thomas Tuchel, Erik Ten Hag, Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Champions League, Premier League