Tuchel ‘impressive’ in Chelsea talks, agrees terms with Arsenal, probably going to manage PSG as well — reports

Former Borussia Dortmund head coach Thomas Tuchel, who was sacked by BVB at the end of last season after a tumultuous and not exactly trophy-filled two years in charge, remains very highly rated and very much in demand by teams looking for a change of head coach this summer. Three such teams who are likely to feature in just about every similar rumor are Chelsea, Arsenal, and PSG, all three of whom still have a manager but are expected to be without one at some point this coming summer.

Who will be the next Chelsea manager? According to a few reports over the past couple days, including noted journalist Raphael Honigstein, possibly Thomas Tuchel, who was “impressive” in recent talks with Chelsea supremo Marina Granovskaia. (That’s sure to warm the cockles of our podcast friends’ hearts.)

Who will be the next Arsenal manager? Kicker claimed on Monday that Tuchel had “agreed terms”. Others have disputed that claim since.

Who will be the next PSG manager? I mean, might as well be Tuchel, right?

Bayern Munich are also looking for a manager, probably, but Tuchel has apparently ruled himself out of that option, which seems very weird for any manager working on Germany.

Tuchel supposedly has promised himself to a club with a “realistic chance” of winning the Champions League, which obviously rules out Arsenal, but in a way, also rules out Chelsea (we might join Arsenal in the Europa next season anyway) and PSG Neymar FC, who recently were pining most for Luis Enrique instead.

Tuchel, like Conte, also has a reputation for being a stubborn control freak and for wanting complete and final authority over football matters. At BVB, he compounded all that by falling out with players as well (perhaps not dissimilar to Conte vs. Costa), and developing a personal conflict with Sven Mislintat so intense that he might refuse to join Arsenal purely because of the scout’s presence there.

All-in-all, it’s a bit baffling why Chelsea would want to go down this well-worn path once again. Might as well keep Conte at that rate, which is a possibility I continue to cling to desperately. (Unless Tuchel convinces Christian Pulisic to come along when Michy Batshuayi returns from his loan this summer ... in which case, all aboard the Tu-Tu-Tucheltrain!)