Thomas Tuchel will lead the Three Lions into the next World Cup after signing a deal to become England’s new head coach.
The former Chelsea and Bayern Munich manager will take over from Lee Carsley, who has been in charge on an interim basis following the departure of Gareth Southgate after Euro 2024 earlier this year.
It was reported early on Tuesday that the German was in advanced talks with the Football Association but the 51-year-old has beaten the likes of Newcastle United’s Eddie Howe and former Blues boss Graham Potter to the job with an England side who have reached the final of the last two editions of the European Championships.
Tuchel 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 will not be a cheap hire, however, and the FA will 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 is a cash 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, but the move would leave England with a German at the helm for the first time ever.
Tuchel would also be the first overseas manager since Capello, who ruled the roost between 2008 and 2012. England’s only other foreign manager was the late Sven-Goran Eriksson.
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 severely dented faith in him, while his apparent uncertainty about pursuing the role left the FA with little choice but to explore other options.