Former Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has emerged as the new frontrunner for the England job after it was reported that he held talks with the Football Association.
Tuchel, who led the Blues to Champions League glory in 2021, has been out of work since leaving Bayern Munich in his native Germany at the end of last season.
The FA has been identifying candidates to succeed Gareth Southgate since he stepped down in July following Euro 2024, where his England team lost in the final to Spain.
That has progressed to formal negotiations with Tuchel over the past fortnight, according to Sky Sports News, as doubts have grown over caretaker boss Lee Carsley’s suitability for the role.
All-conquering Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is also thought to have been sounded out about the job but talks with Tuchel are said to have progressed further.
Newcastle United’s Eddie Howe was reported to be an early target for the FA but would be expensive to prise from his current contract, which runs until 2027.
Former Brighton and Chelsea head coach Graham Potter has also been in the frame, although the feeling in the game is that he would prefer a return to club football.
Tuchel, 51, would cost the FA nothing in compensation and, having also won trophies at Bayern, Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund, is arguably the most successful manager on the market.
He would not be cheap, however, and the FA would probably have to fork out a salary in excess of the record £6m they paid to Fabio Capello in order to get their man.
Tuchel reportedly earned £13m a year when he left Chelsea in 2022 and had a deal worth up to £10.5m at Bayern, where he spent little more than a year.
The FA may also have to overcome objections from within the game to appointing a foreigner to the top job, especially one from a nation historically regarded as England’s biggest rivals.
Other concerns around Tuchel include the tendency for relations with his paymasters to become strained, having left all of his last four jobs under a cloud.
The FA has made clear nationality is no barrier to the role as they seek a manager capable of turning England from serial runners-up into world or European champions.
The job was widely expected to be Carsley’s to lose after he followed Southgate’s path from England Under-21 coach to caretaker manager of the senior team.
But defeat at home to Greece has severely dented faith in him, while his apparent uncertainty about pursuing the role has left the FA with little choice but to explore other options.