Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has revealed he never had any contact with Newcastle United about becoming head coach back in 2015.
The German tactician was linked with a move to St. James’ Park after Magpies officials decided to let Alan Pardew leave for Crystal Palace.
At the time, Tuchel was out of work after managing Bundesliga side Mainz, and there had been some talk about him replacing Pardew.
But he would go on to take the Borussia Dortmund job following the departure of Jurgen Klopp to Liverpool.
Tuchel made his name at Signal Iduna Park, winning the DFB Pokal during his two seasons in charge before he moved to Paris Saint-Germain.
Previewing the game with Newcastle tomorrow night, the 47-year-old new manager of Chelsea fielded questions about those links to the Magpies, and it turns out he was never close to becoming the club’s manager.
He joked (via Chronicle): “I just heard it and it feels like I missed an opportunity here because I never talked to any officials from Newcastle.
“Maybe I have to ask my lawyer if he missed some calls or if he was on holiday or whatever.
“I just heard this in the press conference and I was never aware that this was a possibility.”
What might have been
In the past few years since the Newcastle links, Tuchel has established himself as one of Europe’s top young coaches.
By all accounts, he is an extremely intelligent and tactically astute man who places real emphasis on playing attacking football.
To see him now in the Premier League with Chelsea has the potential to be somewhat upsetting for Newcastle fans, who have suffered watching the Steve McClaren, Rafa Benitez and Steve Bruce brands of football.
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