Forget Erik ten Hag - Man Utd's next managerial appointment should be blatantly obvious

Well, that’s one name out of the running. Probably. Maybe. We don’t really know for sure. According to various reports, Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna is expected to stay at Portman Road this summer, despite the flashed ankles of several Premier League heavy hitters, including Manchester United.

Alas, however, the boy prince of EFL dugouts up and down the country looks as if he will be staying put in Suffolk for the time being, and with that United’s prospective managerial search may need to be rejigged somewhat. Then again, it might have been anyways, given Erik ten Hag’s rather shocking FA Cup triumph last weekend.

Suddenly the Dutchman, hanging by a thread as he was, might not be so doomed after all. Maybe there is a way out of this quagmire, a glowing path to redemption unfurling before him. Or maybe he will be sacked regardless and United will find themselves back at square one - only this time without the tantalising prospect of a McKenna homecoming to consider.

And that would raise the obvious question as to where the Red Devils turn next. There are, of course, several options; Roberto de Zerbi and Mauricio Pochettino are newly unemployed, Thomas Frank is a darling of the gossip columns, Gareth Southgate is an intriguing notion post-Euro 2024. But the name that really jumps out is Thomas Tuchel.

The German is out of work following his departure from Bayern Munich, and would represent an elite appointment for a club desperately trying to reestablish their status as one of the biggest and best in England and Europe writ large. While his stint in Bavaria ended quite sourly, there is no denying the heft of Tuchel’s footballing intellect, or arguing with his Champions League winner’s medal from his time with Chelsea.

It would appear that there is interest from his side too. According to renowned reporter Ben Jacobs, as told to Caught Offside: ‘Mauricio Pochettino and Thomas Tuchel are both keen on the Manchester United job should a vacancy emerge, but the first task is to decide on Ten Hag.’

That decision is expected to be made shortly, and it is worth reiterating that Ten Hag may well be given another chance to right the wrongs of this season. But if he does go, United are going to need somebody proven, steady, and ultimately, a little bit special to coax them back towards the upper reaches of the Premier League table. Tuchel has that feel to him, a stellar reputation backed up by a winning record and a tactically astute brain.

At the present moment in time, the 50-year-old sits beneath the likes Pochettino and De Zerbi in the bookmakers’ affections, but he is also the only viable candidate who has tasted meaningful success at the very highest level, and if United are serious about being sustained silverware contenders in the immediate future, then they need to properly consider working on shortening his odds as soon as possible. Do that, and maybe, just maybe, Ten Hag’s FA Cup victory will be a glorious swansong, and nothing more.