Tuchel agrees to become next England manager

Former Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has agreed to become the next England manager.

The BBC has been told by two different sources that German Tuchel will become the third non-British permanent manager of the England men’s team after Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello.

England have been without a permanent manager since Gareth Southgate resigned following the Three Lions’ Euro 2024 final defeat against Spain.

Lee Carsley, who the Football Association put in charge on an interim basis, will remain in place for England’s final two Nations League matches against Greece and the Republic of Ireland in November, with Tuchel set to formally take over after that.

Tuchel’s formal unveiling is expected on Wednesday at Wembley.

His main target will be leading England through qualification for the 2026 World Cup which takes place in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

An approach was also made for Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola in the summer to see if had an interest in the role.

Tuchel is familiar with English football having managed Chelsea between January 2021 and September 2022.

The 51-year-old lifted the Champions League, Fifa Club World Cup and Uefa Super Cup with the Blues before being sacked.

In June, the former Bayern Munich, Paris St-Germain and Borussia Dortmund manager ruled himself out of the running to take over at Manchester United having met Red Devils co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe in France.

He won the German Cup with Dortmund and two Ligue 1 titles at PSG, including a domestic treble in 2019-20.

His last high-profile job was manager of Bayern but, after the club failed to win the Bundesliga title for the first time since 2011-12 last season, he left the position despite still having a year to run on his contract.

Neither the FA, Tuchel’s representatives or Manchester City would comment publicly when approached by BBC Sport.

Following a turbulent tenure at Bayern Munich, Tuchel should find the transition from club football to England manager slightly easier, says Christian Falk, head of football for BILD in Germany.

“He is not always an easy guy,” Falk told BBC Radio 5 Live.

“He had problems in Germany with the bosses of the club but in England it was different. He loved the island and he was accepted more than in Germany and that is why he always wanted to come back.

“The most problems he has always had is over transfers which club bosses didn’t agree to but he won’t have that problem with England.”

Former Chelsea defender Pat Nevin thinks Tuchel will be able to bring a different perspective to the England squad.

“The thing that really impressed me during his time at Chelsea was his ability to adapt,” said Nevin on 5 Live.

“When he was there he was very much a three centre-backs and wing-backs kind of manager – and that was because he had Marcos Alonso and Reece James as the powerhouses.

“But he wasn’t like that at Bayern and certainly wasn’t at Dortmund or PSG, so he is a manager who doesn’t just have one idea. He will look at what he has and adapt to that.”

The FA’s job spec for Southgate’s successor asked for a candidate who will “lead and develop the England senior men’s team to win a major tournament”.

With that in mind, former Three Lions defender Stuart Pearce thinks the bar will already be set high for the incoming Tuchel.

Pearce, who won 78 caps, told talkSPORT: “When Gareth left in the summer people were saying, ‘we need to go the next step’.

“Where is the next step from getting to finals and being runner-up? The next step is winning trophies.

“That will be the expectation and I think he’s got a really tough tournament in a year-and-a-half to attempt to win the World Cup.

“That’s a tough prospect.”

Harry Redknapp, who won the FA Cup as Portsmouth boss and was linked with the England job during his managerial career, says he is disappointed the FA have looked abroad.

“Obviously the field [of English managers] was very small to choose from because Englishmen don’t get jobs managing in the Premier League very often now,” Redknapp told Sky Sports.

“I do think with all the money the FA spend on coaching courses, when the jobs come along, an Englishman never gets the job and it’s sad.”

The FA’s search for a new boss began in July, two days after England’s Euro 2024 disappointment when Southgate resigned following their second consecutive Euros final defeat, having been beaten on penalties by Italy at Wembley three years ago.

Southgate spent eight years in charge of the national side and is the only manager bar 1966 World Cup winner Sir Alf Ramsey to lead England’s men into a major tournament final.

Carsley took over the job on a temporary basis “with a view to remaining in the position throughout autumn” while the FA assessed suitable options.

The 50-year-old has overseen three victories and one defeat – a 2-1 defeat by Greece at Wembley last week – in the Nations League since stepping up to cover the role.

Like Southgate, Carsley was previously England Under-21s boss and guided the team to victory at the European U21 Championship in 2023.

Following the loss to Greece, Carsley said he would “hopefully be going back to the under-21s”.

After the win over Finland three days later, he said it was “definitely” wrong to say he had ruled himself out of the running for the permanent job, but said England deserve a “world-class coach”.

Among the other names previously linked with the permanent vacancy are Newcastle manager Eddie Howe and former Brighton and Chelsea boss Graham Potter.

Ex-England defender Stephen Warnock said the deal between the FA and Tuchel had been done “very cleverly behind the scenes”.

“[The FA] have gone out and found someone who is very tactically astute,” Warnock told 5 Live.

“What Tuchel brings is a character and a reflection of his own style on a football pitch.”