Thomas Tuchel has has agreed to become the new England manager and is expected to fly in this week to sign a contract worth £5million a year.
The German will start work in January on a deal that runs for 18 months – meaning the 2026 World Cup in North America could be his only tournament in charge.
The former Chelsea boss will be only the third non-English manager of the men’s England team and first since Fabio Capello quit in 2012. A press conference to announce his appointment is expected to be held at Wembley tomorrow at 1.30pm, which will be attended by FA chief executive Mark Bullingham.
The FA sounded out candidates including Pep Guardiola and Eddie Howe for the job, which Lee Carsley is currently doing on an interim basis, after Gareth Southgate stepped down following the heartbreaking defeat by Spain in the Euro 2024 final.
But talks between Tuchel and the FA accelerated rapidly, with the governing body aware of interest in the 51-year-old from Manchester United, who are considering the future of boss Erik ten Hag.
Thomas Tuchel, 51, has signed a deal to become the next England manager and is the first non-English boss of the men’s national side since 2012
A press conference to announce his appointment is expected to be held at Wembley tomorrow at 1.30pm, which will be attended by FA chief executive Mark Bullingham
The German, 51, will permanently replace Gareth Southgate as Three Lions boss who stepped down in the summer after the heartbreaking Euro 2024 final loss to Spain
A United defeat by Brentford on Saturday could see Ten Hag sacked, and Tuchel was certain to be in the running to replace him, having already met Sir Jim Ratcliffe in the summer to discuss taking over at Old Trafford.
Tuchel’s trophy-winning record is of obvious appeal to the FA, but he also knows English football well. He won the Champions League as Chelsea boss in 2021 and worked with England captain Harry Kane at Bayern Munich last season.
It is understood Tuchel is effectively on gardening leave after quitting Bayern last summer, which could have financial implications for the FA but nothing serious enough to derail the deal.
Tuchel, who has been a regular visitor to London since leaving Chelsea in 2022, wants to return to work and the England job proved too attractive to turn down.
English coach Anthony Barry, who worked with Tuchel at Chelsea and Bayern before taking up his current role with Portugal, is likely to reunite with Tuchel at St George’s Park.
Carsley, whose prospects of taking the job on a permanent basis took a hit when his ultra-attacking England line-up were beaten by Greece at Wembley last week, will stay in charge for next month’s Nations League rematch with the Greeks and the closing group game against the Republic of Ireland.
Mail Sport reported on Saturday that the FA had significant reservations about whether Carsley even wanted to succeed Gareth Southgate on a full-time basis.
Those doubts had only grown over recent days following a series of public comments by the 50-year-old that seemed to distance him from the vacancy.
Carsley had support at the FA but the sense that he was not fully convinced about taking the reins led the FA to rule their Under 21 manager out of the running and move for Tuchel instead.
Manchester City boss Guardiola was viewed as the governing body’s dream candidate but the FA had not received any encouragement from him since an approach in July.
Tuchel’s appointment means England will be the only leading football nation to have foreign managers of both their men’s and women’s teams.
The Lionesses’ boss is Sarina Wiegman, from the Netherlands. The FA must hope Tuchel will have a similar impact to Wiegman, who led England to Euros glory in 2022.
The FA declined to comment.
The German has an impressive CV having previously won the Champions League while manager of Chelsea
England U21 boss Lee Carsley has been in interim charge of the Three Lions since Southgate’s departure
Tuchel has been out of work since leaving German giants Bayern Munich in May
The German is the first non-English boss of England since Fabio Capello (pictured) quit in 2012
Tuchel has an impressive CV having won league titles with Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich, as well as the Champions League, Super Cup, and Club World Cup at Chelsea.
But it will no doubt be seen as a controversial move by the FA due to England’s rivalry with his native Germany.
England captain Harry Kane played under Tuchel at Bayern Munich last season and spoke earlier today about his former boss’s links to the job.
‘Obviously, I know Thomas well from last year. Fantastic coach, fantastic person, so I am sure the guys at the FA will contact me when they know more about it,’ he said.
Tuchel’s first game in charge is likely to be in March and a qualifier for the 2026 World Cup.
The 51-year-old had recently been told he was Man United’s No 1 target if they decided to axe Ten Hag, according to reports.
United courted the German in the summer but opted to stick with Ten Hag despite their dismal start to the season.
