Thomas Tuchel has insisted he will not leave Chelsea before the end of the season, despite rumours linking him with Manchester United.
After Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich was sanctioned by the UK government following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Tuchel has seen his name linked with United, with a number of changes expected at Stamford Bridge. Although the club have been given a special license to continue playing football until the end of the season, they will be unable to sign or sell players when the transfer window opens.
Given that uncertainty, a number of big names have been linked with exits, including Tuchel. And with United in the process of hiring a new permanent manager, the German has emerged as another possibility.
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Mauricio Pochettino and Erik ten Hag remain the frontrunners as United look to make an appointment before the end of the season, although Tuchel has seen his odds slashed dramatically in recent days. Jamie Carragher is among those to have urged United to make a move for the Chelsea boss.
Tuchel though has brushed aside any suggestions he could leave the club. And, speaking after his side’s 1-0 win over Newcastle in their first home game since the sanctions were imposed on Abramovich, the former PSG boss insisted he would be going anywhere right now.
“There’s no doubt I’ll stay until the end of the season. Absolutely,” said Tuchel. “We just have to wait and we still have to go day-by-day because everything can change.
“As you know the situation is clear, the club’s for sale, and hopefully, it will go through to sort things out and give us a perspective. But it’s pure speculation and I have no further information than you already have.
“That’s what I meant with day-by-day, which is anyway a good way to live your life, and now we are forced to do it because there are some circumstances we cannot influence, and at some point it’s not so nice because we have no strings to pull and no actions to do to help.
“On the other side it gives you the freedom to focus on what we can influence, and this is our performances and to show the spirit.
“Of course, the focus is on the first team, our players and me and the first team of Chelsea. But Chelsea is much more than the first team of the Premier League. It’s a massive club, massive club with huge tradition and there are hundreds of people who I’m pretty sure worry more than our players and staff, me included.
“For them, it’s important that we show the spirit and give them a bit of a distraction, some hope and show what we are about, and we are about football because we love the game.”
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