Thomas Tuchel loves Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham, can give his ex-players a lifeline, but England fans warned about playing style
Following a three-month search, England have found their next manager – Thomas Tuchel.
The former Chelsea and Bayern Munich boss is set to be the FA’s permanent successor to Gareth Southgate.
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Tuchel is expected to be unveiled as the third foreign appointment in England’s history in a press conference at Wembley on Wednesday in what is an initial 18-month contract. He is expected to formally begin the role in January.
He’ll arrive with Champions League, Bundesliga and Ligue 1 success to his name although he does not yet have experience in international management on his impressive CV.
However, it seems the England vacancy may have been too good for Tuchel to turn down, with German football journalist Raphael Honigstein hinting it could be a match made in heaven.
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Hope turns into reality
“He’s an avowed Anglophile,” Honigstein exclusively told talkSPORT. “He loves English football, loves English players. Of course, he worked with Eric Dier, worked with Harry Kane at Bayern and tried to bring in a couple more English players.
“He was forever talking about how much he enjoyed working in England, working in English dressing rooms or a dressing room at Chelsea. And just, I think, he wanted to come back to England full stop.
“There was no secret that he had discussions with Manchester United. I think one or two other clubs were looking at him. I think Spurs were looking at him not so long ago. So for him, I think it’s a bit of a dream move. As I said, he has a real passion for English football.
“I think he sees himself as somebody that can take a team that’s come close. That’s one decisive step further and maybe deliver the trophy and not just become a hero for winning stuff, but becoming a German hero in England. I think that has a special kind of fascination for him.”
With a current crop of players as talented as England’s, Tuchel’s task of ensuring they qualify and compete to win the 2026 World Cup will surely become a lot easier, despite his lack of international experience.
The Three Lions’ qualification campaign begins in March and one man who’s expected to be amongst the goals is record scorer Harry Kane.
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Tuchel and Kane to be reunited
Tuchel’s statement Bayern signing was the £100million plus capture of Tottenham striker Kane in 2023, who netted an incredible 44 goals in 45 appearances across all competitions under the German.
Even though they spent just the one season together, the England captain’s efforts were enough for Tuchel to feel honoured in his presence.
“It’s just a gift, I feel very privileged to be his coach,” he said in an interview with the Bundesliga’s media channel. “The guy is super humble, he’s the first out there on the pitch every single day and anything you ask of him, he will do it.
“He’s a huge personality who becomes a shark on the field, because he wants to score, he wants to win, and he does it on a daily basis. He doesn’t only score on a daily basis, he trains well, he does what is needed, he shows his quality.
“He calms everyone down around him and makes everyone better by his pure presence. It’s the highest level, I can put it like this, as a human being but also as a footballer.”
If Kane can continue his goalscoring magic with Tuchel at the helm then England could well be destined for World Cup success, especially if Jude Bellingham dazzles once again too.
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‘Extraordinary’ Bellingham
A stunning breakthrough at Borussia Dortmund and excellent first season with Real Madrid have helped make Bellingham a key starter for England.
He repaid the faith at Euro 2024 with the winner in their opening match against Serbia and incredible stoppage-time acrobatic finish to send their last-16 tie with Slovakia to extra time.
Bellingham’s rise in football has been meteoric and will surely be pivotal in the plans of Tuchel, who has admired his growth.
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“Jude has had an extraordinary development,” he said ahead of Bayern and Madrid’s Champions League clash Madrid in April, as quoted by the Daily Mirror. “He was fantastic here in the Bundesliga and how he progressed here shows the level of personality.
“This is only possible with a huge personality. Everyone who plays for Real Madrid also plays with the pressure of the shirt, plays with the pressure to play for this club with the demands and expectations.
“He handles it like he has never done anything else before. He is very dangerous, very physical in his game and is an absolute key player and plays in a very offensive position and we are well aware of it. We try to find solutions.”
Kane and Bellingham are arguably two of England’s most crucial players but Tuchel has already worked with his fair share of top Three Lions talent.
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Redemption for Chelsea men?
Reece James, Ben Chilwell, Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham and Callum Hudson-Odoi are all English players who proved crucial in Chelsea’s run to Champions League glory under Tuchel in 2021.
The first three were all selected in Southgate’s squad for Euro 2020, but only midfielder Mount made it to the 2022 World Cup and none of the quintet played at Euro 2024.
James is the most recent of the five players to have featured for England, doing so off the bench against Italy in March 2023.
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He could certainly be in line for a recall under Tuchel as he approaches a return from injury at Chelsea, but has Trent Alexander-Arnold and Kyle Walker as right-back competitors.
Chilwell’s Blues career has significantly slowed and his future at the club remains uncertain and should he move in January, he would need a monumental push to enter Tuchel’s thinking at left-back.
Striker Abraham and winger Hudson-Odoi have moved onto pastures new at AC Milan [on loan from Roma] and Nottingham Forest respectively.
Both have impressed this season but as is the same with Manchester United’s Mount, who has struggled with injury issues, they will need excellent runs of form to return to the international scene amid tough competition in their positions.
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Trevoh Chalobah could be a fresh face though as he was handed his Chelsea debut by Tuchel in the 2021/22 season.
Whilst he is yet to make a senior appearance for England, this could change if he impresses during his loan spell at Crystal Palace.
There may also be a route back into the England team for Dier, whom he signed at Bayern last January.
The Tuchel Way
Southgate was often criticised for being too conservative with the players he had at his disposal, but will Tuchel be much different?
“His playing style used to be interesting. He used to be the biggest fan of Pep Guardiola and his football was very much Pep inspired,” Honigstein said.
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“And then when he went to PSG, he already had to adjust because he realised, ‘I can’t play pressing football, I can’t play hugely tactical football with the likes of Mbappe and all these guys. I have to keep them entertained, I have to give them freedom.’
“And it was already something very different. And then he went to Chelsea, as you know, and played, I don’t wanna say defensive football, very pragmatic football, wasn’t very expensive, lots of 1-0 wins, lots of clean sheets.
“And that kind of continued into the Bayern reign as well. So I couldn’t tell you that, I would never say that Thomas Tuchel is a negative manager because his start, his first 15 years of management weren’t like that.
“But in recent years, he seems to become more pragmatic. And that’s why it’s gonna be fascinating to me to see how he’s gonna fit all this array of talent.
“England have all their best players in the final third of the pitch. How is he gonna fit all of that into perhaps a more pragmatic line-up? That’s gonna be interesting.”
