Chelsea should not fear Man United's Erik Ten Hag call after Thomas Tuchel's clever £18m switch

The evolution of Ruben Loftus-Cheek to Ruben Wingback-Cheek has been quite something over the past four days.

Starting in that unorthodox role in Saturday's 6-0 thumping of Southampton felt like a wild experiment from Thomas Tuchel just for one afternoon, crammed between two Champions League legs. Like a Marvel side issue that isn't really cannon in the narrative of Tuchel's Chelsea.

But on Tuesday night he repeated the trick, again putting Loftus-Cheek in a hybrid wingback role. Floating inwards and outwards, covering vast amounts of ground in order to unsettle the returning Ferland Mendy. Although the academy graduate was not outstanding, the clever use of the midfielder proves how lucky the Blues are to have the German.

Four things that will 'definitely' happen to Chelsea after Ten Hag is appointed at Man United

As Erik ten Haag awaits in the wings at Old Trafford, there is already lots of hype around the current Ajax boss arriving at Manchester United this summer and turning around the club's fortunes. Although Ten Haag's appointment presents intrigue and new hope, particularly with the way he's crafted an impressive Ajax squad, Chelsea should not be at all fearful.

United to put it kindly, has been a complete cluster fruitcake for some time. No clarity, no vision, disliked owners and a fractured dressing room. The task is steep for whoever takes that role and given the surgery that squad needs to assemble anything close to a cohesive unit, it is likely the road back for United is long.

At Stamford Bridge, the appointment of Tuchel has vastly improved the mood around the club. His tactical imprint led the Blues to a European Cup in under four months and made them World Champions in 2022. The defeat to Real