Thomas Tuchel is no longer Chelsea manager, six games into the season. 100 games into his Stamford Bridge tenure; around 100 days into the new ownership.
It came out of the blue to say the least. The German was said to be surprised by the decision, as many fans were: was even the previous owner that ruthless? Still, it leaves Tuchel in a fascinating position as potentially the greatest coach in world football currently out of work.
Having worked at Borussia Dortmund, PSG and now Chelsea, the 49-year-old has plenty of experience of winning trophies without having laid down strong roots at any of his former sides. The world could well be his oyster, with plenty of clubs likely to be monitoring him.
Where will Thomas Tuchel end up?
1. Juventus
Sometimes the obvious answer is also the best one. Max Allegri was adored in his first spell as Juventus manager, leading the club to successive Serie A titles, rebuilding strongly from the Antonio Conte era and getting to another Champions League final. His second coming has been underwhelming.
Juve have looked miles away from the quality of both Milan-based sides, despite improving their squad with the likes of Dusan Vlahovic, Gleison Bremer and Angel Di Maria. Naturally, the Old Lady are still in the midst of transition but it seems as though Allegri has lost his golden touch and Tuchel would be an elite replacement. He's defensively resolute, can handle huge squads stacked with big names – as Di Maria can testify from the PSG days – and tactically, he could blitz the Italian league.
It could be the perfect opportunity for Tuchel to reinvent himself, inject a little of his older, more free-flowing style and conjure up the best of what he offered Chelsea and PSG. But should Juve hire a manager whose forwards were lacking under him, when they need someone to reinvigorate their own?
2. Real Madrid
Carlo Ancelotti is a god in the eyes of Real Madrid fans, having delivered yet another Champions League title only recently. It's a shame that Florentino Perez sees himself as the only deity in the Spanish capital.
The prickly Perez had no such sentiment when he ousted Don Carlo from his hotseat despite delivering Old Big Ears in his first Bernabeu spell. He's unlikely to shed a tear for the Italian great this time either – and with Barcelona looking a lot stronger than Real Madrid in La Liga, maybe Los Blancos need a tactical equal to square up to Xavi in El Clasico. Just look at what happened in the 4-0 thumping last season.
Ancelotti only ever seemed like a short-term fix, anyway. Tuchel brings a pragmatism that Real Madrid fans certainly won't mind, along with a knowledge of how to maximise superstars. Karim Benzema is basically the forward he tried to turn Romelu Lukaku into and the squad would suit a back three, should he wish to use one.
Sure, Tuchel's previous jobs have often ended in disagreement but what's new at Real?
3. Atletico Madrid
Well if he doesn't fancy one side of Madrid…
Diego Simeone has coached Atletico Madrid for over a decade now: and football years are like dog years. The man is worshipped at the Wanda Metropolitano – but there are signs that his magic is waning.
The first sign was the 4-4-2 getting dominated in Europe, while big-spending has failed to keep Atleti looking as imperious as they were at their height – despite that hurrah of the recent title.
Thomas Tuchel would be a natural successor. He would likely stick with the same three-at-the-back formation, drill this team to remain compact and get more from the wing-backs. He's at his best when he inherits world-class quality that's stagnated – and there's plenty of that to work with here.
4. Inter Milan
Inter Milan are similar to Atletico Madrid, really. They both won the title the season before last before putting up a disappointing defence of their honour. Both utilise a 3-5-2 of sorts – similar in shape to Tuchel's Chelsea if not identical – and both have a culture of grinding out results rather than putting on a show.
So the elephant in the room of Tuchel going to Inter would obviously be his reunion with Romelu – but aside from that, there's plenty to work with. Simone Inzaghi has done a decent job since replacing Antonio Conte but Tuchel could take this side to the next level. The only issue would be that this team is nothing close to what Tuchel's worked with at Chelsea or PSG.
Perhaps even his Dortmund side would better than this. Should Inter offer the German the idea of shaping his own project – assuming they have anything close to the funds that Tuchel would need – it might be an interesting match. It seems unlikely, though, however much it might look good on paper.
5. Liverpool
It certainly would be a turn up for the books. Tuchel replaced Jurgen Klopp at Dortmund and fixed a lot of the issues that BVB had – and looking at the side that Liverpool have now, it's obvious where his Chelsea template would reinvigorate the Reds. Trent and Robbo at wing-back, a double-pivot midfield to hide the central deficiencies and either Elliot, Carvalho or both as his Mason Mount, the other side of Salah.
There's just one small problem: perhaps more than any manager this side of the century, this is Klopp's club. The fans would not be happy – to say the absolute least – if their manager was sacked, despite their stuttering start to the season.
For everything Jurgen has given Anfield, he deserves to leave on his own terms and anything other than that will not be a popular move from FSG… who aren't exactly the best-loved owners in the land as it is, despite the massive success of the last few years.
Klopp's new contract makes any change extremely unlikely – but in football, anything can happen. And once things start to go wrong, anything can happen very quickly indeed.
6. Manchester City
Pep Guardiola is in the last year of his contract at City, and has repeatedly stated that he doesn't want to rush a decision on whether to extend his stay in Manchester.
If he does decide to move on, then Man City's choice will be enormously influenced by who they think is likely to deliver a Champions League trophy – especially if Guardiola fails to win it this season.
In that circumstance, a recent Champions League-winning manager who is currently available could be a very easy option.
7. Tottenham Hotspur
Jose Mourinho, Antonio Conte... Thomas Tuchel? Spurs have made a habit of hiring former Chelsea bosses in recent years.
While the Conte/Tottenham team-up is currently working well, things can quickly sour when Conte is around. The fiery Italian already looked on the edge of quitting back in February, following a dismal defeat to Burnley.
London-based, and with Champions League football, Tottenham could be an attractive proposition for Tuchel.
The German's recent touchline bust-up with Conte would make this the perfect match for lovers of drama, too (FourFourTwo very much included).
8. Bayern Munich
At Bayern, winning the Bundesliga is considered a given. How the team performs in Europe is really where managers live and die.
Bayern crashed out of the Champions League in the quarter-finals to Villarreal last year – an undeniable disappointment. Underachievement again this year could see patience wear thin with young manager Julian Nagelsmann (he's still only 35, and has been at Bayern just a year).
In which case, a return to Germany could well be on the cards for Tuchel.
