Manager Chelsea approached before Tuchel reveals why he didn’t sign up

Ralf Rangnick has revealed that Chelsea made an approach to him before appointing Thomas Tuchel as their new manager.

Chelsea decided to replace Frank Lampard with Tuchel in January after their form had taken a turn for the worse.

The move seems to be paying off, as Tuchel is yet to taste defeat in his first five matches in charge. Chelsea have kept clean sheets in four of those games.

However, only time will tell how successful Tuchel will be in the Stamford Bridge hotseat.

Things could have turned out differently, though. Former RB Leipzig chief Rangnick has now confirmed that Chelsea asked him to become their interim manager first.

However, Rangnick did not want to sign up on such terms.

The 62-year-old told The Times: “I said: ‘I would like to come and work with you, but I can’t do it for four months. I’m not an interim coach.'”

Rangnick tried to sign Hudson-Odoi for Leipzig

Rangnick tried to sign Hudson-Odoi for Leipzig

Ralf Rangnick says Callum Hudson-Odoi could struggle to get regular time on the pitch for Chelsea following their new signings, and that he tried to persuade the winger to join RB Leipzig two or three years ago.

However, Rangnick did open the door to a future job in Premier League football.

He added: “It would have to be something special. It depends on the club and whether you want to work with a German coach.”

Rangnick could even have worked in England at an earlier stage. He revealed that he was the main competitor to Sam Allardyce for the England national team job back in 2017.

He said: “The England job was between me and Allardyce. They decided on Sam. We know how that went.”

Tuchel told how to keep job

Meanwhile, the man Chelsea chose instead of Rangnick has been offered some advice.

Tuchel signed an 18-month deal to become Chelsea’s new manager, but one pundit thinks he knows what the German must do to stand the best chance of extending that tenure.

Read more…