Jamie Carragher has urged Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel to quit the club and believes Manchester United would be the perfect place for him.
An announcement on Thursday confirmed Blues owner Roman Abramovich has been sanctioned by the UK Government. The 55-year-old Russian-Israeli billionaire is the sole owner of the Stamford Bridge club and had planned a quick sale. However, the freezing of his assets mean a sale is also on hold
Abramovich has always denied any current political links to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has sent his forces to invade Ukraine.
But Chelsea have been given a special licence to continue operating. A licence which at the moment will stop fans from buying future tickets.
Their merchandising arm has also been suspended, while their travel costs have been capped at £20,000. That immediately raises the issue of how the men’s team will be able to fulfil future Champions League away ties.
The club’s shirt sponsor Three are also “reviewing” their three-year deal. While re-signing the likes of Antonio Rudiger, Cesar Azpilicueta and Andreas Christensen is also not permitted at the current time.
It’s a bleak picture for Tuchel. And an “ideal opportunity” for United officials to poach Tuchel, who won the Champions League last season.
“Manchester United have been presented with the ideal opportunity to recruit the manager who should be their number one target: Thomas Tuchel,” Carragher wrote in his Telegraph column.
“Given the events at Chelsea, United’s decision to wait until the end of the season presents them with a choice no-one could have foreseen.
“Tuchel, like everyone else at Stamford Bridge, will have no idea what the future holds at his current club. No-one can offer him any assurances about how the squad will look at the start of next season given the club’s sale is on hold.
“No manager wants to be working amid such a background of uncertainty. If he gets the chance to leave for a club of United’s stature, he must take it.
“United can offer him the security and backing every top coach craves. Yes, it will seem a predatory move. Taking advantage of Chelsea’s crisis – but from United and Tuchel’s perspective the more you consider it, the more of a no-brainer it is.
“Every chief executive in the world looking for a new coach will be – or at least should be – monitoring Tuchel’s mood and public comments between now and the end of the season.
“Only clubs of a certain calibre could attract him. It would be negligent of United to fail to sound him out. As a coach, he is exactly what they need.”
Rangnick is Tuchel ‘mentor’
Former Liverpool defender Carragher also highlighted the relationship between Tuchel and United’s interim coach Ralf Rangnick.
Tuchel and Jurgen Klopp of Liverpool have all named Rangnick as a vital influence in their coaching careers.
“He helped me a lot because he was my coach. And then he was one of the main figures who convinced me to try coaching. And he had a huge influence on all of us at this time,” said Tuchel in November.
“He showed us that it is not necessary to follow everyone to the toilet in football games because that was the belief at the time. Defenders follow their strikers wherever they go, and he showed us that it is possible to defend in a zone.”
And Carragher believes Rangnick could be ready to call Tuchel to take over at Old Trafford.
Carragher added: “Let’s not forget that his mentor – Ralf Rangnick – is in temporary charge. If United are as keen to retain Rangnick’s services in an advisory capacity as they claimed when recruiting him – and they ask him who should take over – who will he tell them to call?”
READ MORE: UK sanctions imposed on Chelsea explained, as Three ‘reviews’ sponsorship deal
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