Ten Hag sack: Man Utd hopes of appointing Thomas Tuchel still very much alive despite England links – exclusive

Manchester United still have a chance of appointing Thomas Tuchel as their next manager despite him being linked with the England job, TEAMtalk can exclusively reveal.

The German coach is highly regarded in football due to his previous success with Chelsea, where he helped the Blues win the Champions League title.

Tuchel is currently a free agent after leaving Bayern Munich at the end of last season but he has plenty of opportunities and two of the world’s biggest jobs are among his options.

Man Utd are actively looking for a replacement for Erik ten Hag as pressure continues to mount on the Dutchman. Tuchel is on the club’s shortlist and they spoke to him over the summer about taking over.

Tuchel wanted to take a break from football after leaving Bayern, hence why he didn’t replace Ten Hag at the time. But he’s now ready to return to management following a brief spell out of the game.

Sources have confirmed to TEAMtalk that he is on the FA’s radar and has been discussed as a potential option to replace interim England manager Lee Carsley.

We understand that Tuchel is open to a conversation with England chiefs but his preference would be to remain in club management as the day-to-day nature of the role is more appealing to him at this stage of his career.

READ MORE: Neville, Keane butt heads over on fire Prem forward Man Utd ‘should never have let go’

Tuchel still in the running for Man Utd job – sources

Tuchel’s desire to remain in club management has given Man Utd hope that they could still appoint him as their new boss if they do decide to sack Ten Hag.

As we exclusively revealed on Friday, Ten Hag has been informed that the next two games will be crucial in determining whether he will continue at Old Trafford.

The Red Devils are set to play Brentford at Old Trafford on the 19th of October, before travelling to Turkey to face Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce on the 24th.

The Man Utd board held discussions last week over Ten Hag’s future whilst he was away on holiday, and sources say the manager was unsure whether he would have a job to return to. However, he remains in charge of the club and will be in the dugout for the clash against Brentford.

Lee Carsley is unlikely to take the England job full time and Tuchel would welcome a conversation with the FA over taking charge of the Three Lions.

But some sources have suggested that the admission of interest in the England role is a pressure play by Tuchel’s agents to make Man Utd move more quickly and offer him the job at Old Trafford.

Man Utd working on Casemiro exit

Meanwhile, Man Utd sporting director Dan Ashworth has been tasked with reducing the Red Devils’ wage bill by club co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

We understand that this could see players depart Old Trafford in January and top of Ashworth’s shortlist is Casemiro, whose performances have been inconsistent this term.

The former Real Madrid man is on a mammoth contract of £350,000 per week, making him Man Utd’s highest-paid player by some distance. Sources say that those at Man Utd do not believe his wages reflect his contributions on the pitch.

As we revealed on Friday, clubs from Saudi Arabia, namely Al-Nassr and Al Qadisiya, have held talks with Casemiro’s agents in recent weeks to gauge his interest in a potential switch to the Gulf State.

Casemiro’s salary demands are high, however, and Man Utd want around £25m to sell him in January, which has put the Saudi duo off somewhat.

Man Utd’s chiefs are actively trying to offload Casemiro but the suggestion is that they will have to drop their asking price to seal his departure.

DON’T MISS: Ranking every player Erik ten Hag has signed for Man Utd from worst to best