West Ham United are being linked with a move for Thomas Tuchel.
Thomas Tuchel oversees a training session
Reports from The Sun over the weekend suggested that West Ham United could part ways with Slaven Bilic in the near future if results don;t improve, with Thomas Tuchel a potential replacement.
Bilic was under fire at the end of last season, but West Ham chose to back him with the signings of players like Joe Hart, Pablo Zabaleta, Marko Arnautovic and Javier Hernandez, only for results to be hit and miss so far this term.
Three defeats to open the season put Bilic under pressure again, and whilst four points from games against Huddersfield and West Brom eased the pressure, speculation again surrounds Bilic’s position after the 3-2 home defeat to Tottenham on Saturday.
Links to Tuchel suggest that West Ham are still monitoring Bilic’s performance as manager ahead of a possible change, and Tuchel could be a fascinating appointment and a major coup if West Ham can pull it off.
The German, 44, won 63% of his games in his two-year stint in charge of Dortmund, and his free agent status may appeal to the Hammers, but his coaching methods could provide a stark contrast to Bilic.
As reported by The Guardian last year, Tuchel implemented training ground features to really pressurise his players, so that playing in games wouldn’t be so daunting. Using slippery, wide or narrow pitches, making players control the ball with their knees before passing and even making defenders hold tennis balls so they don’t tug shirts are just a handful of the ideas Tuchel brought to Dortmund, offering a possibly interesting change at the London Stadium.
Thomas Tuchel
On numerous occasions, and even by his own admission last season, West Ham have lacked intensity in training under Bilic, with some believing that has transferred onto the pitch with some lacklustre displays over the last year.
If that is the case, and Tuchel ends up coming in as Bilic’s replacement this term, then the German could be the complete opposite to the current incumbent, demanding intensity in training and bringing innovative yet somewhat bizarre ideas to help his team prepare for games.
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