THE FA’s hunt for a new England boss saw them miss out on Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti before Manchester United pushed them into a stunning deal for Thomas Tuchel.
The former Chelsea icon is returning to these shores as the new Three Lions manager after agreeing terms on an 18-month contract worth £7.5million.
Tuchel, who was being targeted by United and AC Milan, is set to be announced in a major press conference at Wembley later today.
And the German will be tasked with ending England’s trophy drought after Gareth Southgate led the nation to two consecutive Euros finals.
Interim boss Lee Carsley will see out the remaining Nations League games in November before Tuchel takes charge from January.
But the FA’s path to securing his signature was not a straightforward one.
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FA CEO Mark Bullingham has confirmed they interviewed 10 candidates – including English managers – for the position.
Speaking on the Rest is Football podcast, Gary Lineker revealed that Wembley beaks initially tried to lure Pep Guardiola from Manchester City over the summer.
They even made contact with Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti after deciding to target trophy-laden foreign gaffers.
He said: “It’s confirmed apparently that they did reach out in the summer to Pep Guardiola.
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“And also I understand that they spoke to Carlo Ancelotti.”
The FA’s determination to go international was also summed up by their decision NOT to interview Newcastle boss Eddie Howe.
Chiefs explored a deal for the Toon gaffer earlier in the year, but were put off by the amount of compensation it would take to prise him away from St James’ Park.
Alan Shearer explained: “I’m told they didn’t speak to Eddie Howe, or they didn’t sound him out at all, I’m reliably told.
“Which is a big surprise for me considering he would be the outstanding English candidate.”
Around this point, Tuchel was also contacted following his Bayern Munich exit.
The German expressed a slight interest in replacing Gareth Southgate after the Euros final defeat to Spain.
But Tuchel was instead waiting to see what happened at Manchester United, with Erik ten Hag’s future under the spotlight.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe eventually decided to stick with the Dutchman.
ANDY DILLON: Thomas Tuchel has all the ingredients to become a classic England manager – tactical nous, drive and a tangled love life
By Andy Dillon
THOMAS TUCHEL possesses all the ingredients to become a classic England manager.
Tactical nous, drive, energy, experience – a tangled love life.
English football should welcome back the most explosive, dynamic, charismatic and impossibly tall and gangly coach to have lit up the Premier League.
Chelsea’s colourful former boss has been leading a settled life in Munich of late.
Far enough away from ex-wife Sissi but close enough to see his two daughters.
Walking his dog in the streets in the east of Germany’s most fashionable city, residing in the posh Bogenhausen area. Living relatively quietly with his Brazilian girlfriend.
Tuchel is a vastly different personality to the man who led England quietly but assuredly to the brink of World Cups and European Championships.
An excitable nature can make him hard to handle for those seeking calm and who like to impose their way on a manager they view very much as an underling.
Read more on why Tuchel REALLY IS the best man for the England job
Yet United links with Tuchel re-emerged this month after Ratcliffe and other United big-wigs held a fresh meeting over Ten Hag’s role.
Shearer and Lineker believe this spurred the FA into stepping up talks with Tuchel for fears they would miss out on another top candidate.
Shearer said: “They sounded out Pep, fine, he’s the best in the world, you then have to look at what’s available to you.
“They’ve looked at whoever, they’ve come up with Tuchel and thought there’s a real chance he could get the United job pretty soon.
“So their opportunity lies now. If they didn’t act quick now, they weren’t going to get one of the outstanding candidates for the England job because there’s every chance that vacancy could become available soon.”
Forgotten England stars could benefit from Tuchel appointment
WITH Thomas Tuchel announced as the next England manager, a few forgotten stars might be hopeful of a return to the international set up.
The former Chelsea and Bayern Munich manager usually uses a 3-4-3 formation.
That could provide an opening for Mason Mount, who’s not been involved in the England set-up since the World Cup in 2022.
The now Manchester United star enjoyed his most successful spell under Tuchel while the pair were at Stamford Bridge.
Tuchel could also offer lifelines to other previously capped players such as Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Eric Dier.
RLC has excelled since his move to AC Milan and with England struggling to find a partner for Rice, he could be the surprise answer.
Meanwhile, Dier played for Tuchel at Bayern Munich as part of a back-three last season.
The defender did enough to convince the club to make his loan move permanent after he had fallen out of favour at Tottenham.
Click here to see the full England XI who could play under Tuchel.
Lineker continued: “I wonder whether that had any influence on it. There was a big meeting at United in London, there were a lot of rumours that maybe they were going to fire Ten Hag.
“I have no inside info on that but we know they went for Tuchel in the summer and it didn’t happen, so maybe they were thinking again.
“Maybe the FA have gone ‘crikey, we don’t want to miss out to United’, and it maybe pushed them because it does seem slightly odd with the timing.”
Meanwhile, SunSport understands that England’s shock defeat to Greece pushed the FA into wrapping up a deal for Tuchel.
Lee Carsley’s tactical disaster resulted in a 2-1 defeat at Wembley as he shunted all of England’s playmakers into an unbalanced XI.
Southgate vs Tuchel records compared
THOMAS TUCHEL
Augsburg II 2007-2008
P34 W 20 D8 L6 Win percentage: 58.82%
Mainz 05 2009-2014
P184 W72 D46 L66 Win percentage: 39.13%
Borussia Dortmund 2015-2017
P107 W67 D23 L17 Win percentage: 62.62%
Honours: DFB Pokal
Paris Saint Germain 2018-2020
P127 W95 D13 L16 Win percentage: 74.8%
Honours: Ligue 1 X2, Coupe de France, Coupe de la Ligue, Trophee des Champions x2
Chelsea 2021-2022
P100 W60 D24 L16 Win percentage: 60%
Honours: Champions League, Super Cup, Club World Cup
Bayern Munich 2023-2024
P61 W37 D8 L16 Win percentage: 60.66%
Honours: Bundesliga
GARETH SOUTHGATE
Middlesbrough 2006-2009
P151 W54 D43 Win percentage: 35.76%
England U21 2013-2016
P37 W27 D5 L5 Win percentage: 72.97%
Honours: Toulon tournament
England 2016-2024
P102 W61 D24 L17 Win percentage: 59.8%
Honours: Euros runners up, 2020, 2024
And Three Lions supremos moved quickly to sign up Tuchel, with Carsley also giving mixed messages over his future in press conferences.
But Lineker suspects Carsley already knew he wasn’t getting the job on a permanent basis, leading to his bizarre team selection against Greece.
Lineker added: “I think he knew even before the Greece game, which maybe was one of the reasons he thought ‘f**k it, I’m going to play them all’.
“‘I’m going to play all the superstars in all different positions, not going to bother with a number nine because Harry Kane’s not fit, and just to try something’.
“Now we know they’ve gone for Tuchel and it’s pretty much a done deal, I suspect that was the case. And in the other match, his quotes after the game, I just thought he knows something.
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“I think it’s happened so quickly that the FA thought ‘we have to act here or there’s a chance we’re going to lose one of our outstanding candidates in Tuchel to a club management job’.
“That could have happened really soon and I think that fits in with everything. Why would he start in January and not immediately? The thought, well, ‘let’s get this deal done now’.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
