Paul Merson has offered an intriguing suggestion as a ‘potential option’ that Liverpool might consider in their search for Jurgen Klopp’s successor at Anfield.
Xabi Alonso would likely be the first choice of many Reds supporters at this moment in time, although the Sky Sports pundit named another Bundesliga manager as a possible candidate who could yet enter the fray.
In his latest Premier League predictions column for Sportskeeda, the ex-Arsenal player touched upon the Merseyside managerial hint when he suggested an alternative to the Bayer Leverkusen boss.
Merson wrote: “If they had to hire a new manager tomorrow, I don’t think they’d look past Xabi Alonso, who has taken his Bayer Leverkusen side to the Bundesliga summit ahead of Bayern Munich.
“However, by the end of the season, if Bayern Munich pip them for the title, then Liverpool could even look at Thomas Tuchel as a potential option.”
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Tuchel’s name hasn’t been floated too often since news of Klopp’s summer departure broke last Friday, but the Bayern head coach has the significant plus point of being a Champions League-winning manager from his time at Chelsea.
Along with those two clubs, he’s also been in charge of Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund, so he’s well versed in working at some of the biggest sides in European football, including a few pressure-cooker environments where the powerbrokers aren’t known for their patience.
The German’s elite-level experience ought to make him worthy of consideration, but there are some potential red flags which could deter the Liverpool hierarchy.
Whereas Klopp has forged an indelible ‘band of brothers’ mentality at Anfield, Tuchel was reported to have alienated several players during his spell as Chelsea manager (The Athletic), while he also publicly eviscerated his Bayern squad following their recent defeat to Werder Bremen (Daily Mail).
He was also condemned by Stamford Bridge owner Todd Boehly as a ‘nightmare’ to deal with in terms of player recruitment (The Athletic), so it’s apparent that the ex-Blues boss isn’t afraid to put noses out of joint, even at the risk of causing friction behind the scenes.
The 50-year-old is reportedly fighting for his job at the Allianz Arena (Daily Mail), and it wouldn’t be surprising if he were dismissed even if his side overtake Alonso’s Leverkusen to win a 12th straight Bundesliga title.
That could make Tuchel readily available to Liverpool later this year, but despite his impressive CV, his tendency for internal conflict could be a potential deal-breaker.