Nick Candy issues hands-off warning to Man Utd for boss Thomas Tuchel if he seals £2bn Chelsea takeover
POTENTIAL Chelsea owner Nick Candy has warned Manchester United to keep their hands off “brilliant human” Thomas Tuchel.
Candy’s consortium, including money men from Korea and the USA, made their £2billion-plus bid for the club on Friday.
United are still seeking a long-term boss and have cast envious eyes at Champions League winning German Tuchel.
But property developer and lifelong Blues fan Candy said: “Thomas Tuchel has done an incredible job at a very difficult time in the last few weeks.
“He’s spoken brilliantly, behaved brilliantly and is a true gent.
“It’s one thing being a great manager, it’s a different thing being a great human being.
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“But he’s proven that he’s not just a great manager but a brilliant human being.
“He’s got the respect of the media, he’s got the respect of the players, he’s got the respect of the fans, so all credit to him.”
Tuchel has clearly won over Candy, despite his personal friendship with sacked former boss and Stamford Bridge legend Frank Lampard.
Asked if his stewardship would demonstrate the same ruthless and relentless pursuit of success as under Roman Abramovich, Candy said: “In business you have to make the right decisions at the right time.
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“It’s a testament to how many trophies are in the cabinet that, actually, probably those were the right decisions and Roman was quick to make them.
“Sometimes I may not have agreed with them myself.
“I think with Frank he went a bit too early and probably watching the Champions League being picked up at the end of the season was quite difficult for him.
“But he loves Chelsea, so at the same time it was probably a nice thing to see as he put some of the foundations in.”
The foundations of Chelsea include, of course, Stamford Bridge, with Candy admitting the stadium is “not fit for purpose” and will require a likely five-year rebuild, with the team relocating to Wembley over that period.
But he also believes the new Chelsea must be a ‘magpie’ club — stealing the best ideas from their rivals but giving them an extra dimension.
That means copying Spurs’ stadium and training ground model and taking a leaf out of Manchester City’s book with their growing stable of worldwide sister clubs.
Candy explained: “If you can have the best investor from Africa, India, America, Asia, as we have in our bid, and they use the fans in that part of the world to make money for the club back at home, fantastic.
“And why can’t we have offshoots of the club in South Korea or Los Angeles or wherever it is?
“City have probably done the best job of the feeder clubs. They run it properly, they’re amazing.”
Candy is confident his consortium will be part of any second round of bidding. And he reassured any worried fans by adding: “The idea this club is going to go bust is ludicrous. It’s got plenty of money in the bank.
“Yes, obviously that is sanctioned, so the Government are controlling where that money can be spent but it will not go bust and it will be bought very quickly.”