Rumors linking Thomas Tuchel to Manchester United have been denied by Ralf Rangnick.

As a result of sanctions issued by the United Kingdom government against Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, the Champions League winners are forbidden to negotiate new contracts with current players or sign players from other clubs.

Pundit The BBC's Jamie Carragher suggested on Thursday that Manchester United should try to lure Tuchel away from Chelsea, where he has also guided them to victories in the Club World Cup, as well as the finals of both the FA Cup and the League Cup. In December 2020, Tuchel was fired by Paris Saint-Germain, but the Red Devils did not approach him before he took over as manager of Chelsea a month later.

The former Ulm player and current Stuttgart youth coach Tuchel is a follower of Rangnick's, having played for and under his fellow German at Ulm before being appointed as the club's youth coach in 2000. United have begun the process of identifying their next permanent manager, but Rangnick has downplayed the possibility of them poaching Tuchel from Bayern München.

To even consider or speculate about something like that, Rangnick said, "makes no sense at all." The manager Thomas Tuchel is, in fact, a top-tier manager. Oh yes, he's someone I'm acquainted with. I remember him from when I was in Ulm. Yes, he took his first job as a football coach in Stuttgart during my tenure as the head coach of the Stuttgart team at the time.

"We all know that but he is the manager of Chelsea right now, they’re third, they’re still in the Champions League and only because there are issues now around the ownership of this club, to speculate about maybe him being a candidate for the manager’s here in the summer doesn’t make sense to do that."

Antonio Conte, the coach of Tottenham, was interested in replacing Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in late October. But United didn't want to hire him. Following the resignation of Nuno Espirito Santo as coach of Tottenham Hotspur on November 1, sources claimed United were 'not interested' in Conte. As a result, he was quickly appointed head coach of the club.

A win over United on Saturday at Old Trafford will put Spurs ahead of the London club with two games remaining in the Premier League season. Rangnick assumed control of United on December 2 and provided no additional information about the club's reluctance to hire Conte.

"I'm not sure. I'm not sure what our club here thought in October. All I know is that they contacted me at one point and asked for assistance and if I could imagine taking over until the end of the season. That is why we are seated here right now.

"You can see that they (Spurs) are playing in a back three with a very compact shape, and they are undoubtedly one of the greatest sides in transitional situations because of Heung Son-min and [Harry] Kane," said the analyst. Don't give them those transitional moments, and it is something we must be mindful of and prepare for in the game tomorrow.

"However, they have also lost to teams such as Middlesbrough, Burnley, and Wolves, so it is not impossible for us to defeat them if we play at our absolute best. All things considered, we have a chance to beat them if Middlesbrough, Burnley, and Wolverhampton can do so. And this is what we must do, this is what we must do tomorrow."