Paul Scholes dropped a powerful assessment about England boss Thomas Tuchel and Michael Carrick over the vacant permanent Manchester United head coach role.
Thomas Tuchel was linked with the Red Devils in the past and Ineos and Sir Jim Ratcliffe are believed to be big admirers of the 52-year-old England head coach.
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Paul Scholes says Tuchel is his number one choice
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Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos regime tried to bring the German coach to Old Trafford in 2024 after launching an end-of-season review amid Erik ten Hag’s Red Devils reign.
However, Tuchel ultimately did not replace former United manager Erik ten Hag and the ex-Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea boss became England head coach in 2025.
The Three Lions manager replaced Sir Gareth Southgate and all eyes are now on Tuchel’s campaign with England at the 2026 World Cup in North America.
READ MORE: Michael Carrick already knows what the only answer is to Paul Scholes’ ‘weird’ Man Utd claim
Thomas Tuchel is interviewed by Manchester United legend Roy Keane prior to the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifier match between England and Serbia at Wembley Stadium in 2025 in London, England.
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Man Utd legend Paul Scholes makes a major Thomas Tuchel vs Michael Carrick claim and remains firm on his stance
Thomas Tuchel is currently tipped as one of the favourites to succeed Ruben Amorim in the Old Trafford hot seat after the 2025-26 Premier League campaign.
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Michael Carrick had stepped in as Manchester United interim head coach earlier this month after Ruben Amorim was finally sacked by the Premier League club.
The 44-year-old United legend is only in charge of the Red Devils until the end of the season, with Ineos on the hunt for a new permanent head coach.
Paul Scholes insisted that Carrick does not stand a chance against England manager Tuchel in a straight head-to-head shootout for the Man Utd role at Old Trafford.
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Carrick
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“He’s [Carrick] come into the job now and it’s been that bad for a year that it couldn’t really get any worse, so the pressure isn’t really on you while you’re interim manager,” he said on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast.
“Once you take that job full-time, at the start of the season next year, let’s say, all of a sudden, you’ve got to be winning games straightaway.
“They will be scarred a little bit from the Ole [Gunnar Solskjaer] thing. If the Ole thing hadn’t have happened, then it would probably be more likely.
“But if Michael has got to go up against, say, Thomas Tuchel in the summer, then there’s only one winner if you’re looking at coaching big clubs and winning big prizes, so you can’t really compete with that.”
READ MORE: Clarence Seedorf says Ruben Amorim kept making ‘basic’ mistake at Man Utd, Michael Carrick has fixed it
Paul Scholes is overlooking the advantages that Man Utd legend Michael Carrick holds over England boss Thomas Tuchel
Just like Ole Gunnar Solskjaer before him, Carrick does have his interim head coach run as a potential ‘audition period’ for the managerial role on a permanent basis.
Carrick might not be considered as a major candidate, but a scintillating run of form with the club and the sentiment of United fans could swing things in his favour.
Paul Scholes says Michael Carrick winning games could become a bad thing for Manchester United
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But the former United and England midfielder’s biggest advantage over Tuchel is using his interim head coach role as a springboard for the pre-season summer tour.
The permanent appointment of Carrick could be made at any time, unlike Tuchel, who is out of contract with the Three Lions after the 2026 World Cup in the summer.
Man Utd would be forced to wait even longer for a potential Tuchel appointment – and that’s not counting if the England manager even agrees to come to Old Trafford in the first place.
Tuchel could ultimately do enough to earn a new England contract and that scenario would leave Ineos and United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe in no-man’s land.
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