Thomas Tuchel 'signs contract' to become the new England manager

Thomas Tuchel has agreed to take over as the new England manager and will be unveiled later this week, as the FA have finally found their successor to Gareth Southgate

Thomas Tuchel, the former Bayern Munich manager, has agreed to take on the role of England manager, following successful negotiations with the Football Association. The German coach is set to be officially introduced later this week.

Tuchel quickly became the leading candidate for the position after expressing interest in the job. As initially reported by The Times, Tuchel will become only the third foreign permanent manager of the England team, following Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello.

The search for a new manager began after Gareth Southgate stepped down at the end of Euro 2024. Lee Carsley has been managing the team on an interim basis, guiding the Three Lions through the Nations League.

However, after last week's defeat to Greece and Sunday's victory over Finland, Carsley confirmed he would not be taking on the role permanently. Tuchel emerged as the top choice after being approached by Mark Bullingham, the FA's chief executive, and technical director John McDermott last month.

Despite being out of work since his dismissal from Bayern, it is not expected that the Bundesliga side will demand compensation, reports the Mirror.

The FA are reportedly planning a press conference this week, likely to announce the arrival of Thomas Tuchel as manager. Tuchel, who has previously managed Mainz, Borussia Dortmund, PSG and Chelsea, led the Blues to four cup finals, winning the Champions League, before being sacked in September 2022.

He also guided Dortmund to the DFB-Pokal in 2017, PSG to two Ligue 1 titles and Bayern to the Bundesliga title in 2023. His impressive CV has underlined his ability to work with top players and the FA hope that his appointment will help England transition from beaten finalists in the last two Euros to winners in major tournaments.

The FA had also approached Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola in the summer but the Catalan has not yet responded and it is widely believed he will remain at the Etihad for another year. This led to an accelerated pursuit of Tuchel, with the German flying over to London for talks.

Carsley is expected to return to managing the under-21s. The World Cup draw takes place in Geneva on Friday, December 13, with the new manager then expected to oversee the qualifying campaign.

It is not yet known whether Tuchel will oversee England's final Nations League games next month. The German already has the backing of England skipper Harry Kane, who worked under him at Bayern.

Kane scored 44 goals in 45 games under Tuchel, with the striker now hailing him as a 'fantastic coach'.

Harry Kane has refused to be drawn on speculation linking Thomas Tuchel with the England U21 job, insisting he has not been informed of any developments. "To be honest, I haven't heard anything specific about it yet. That's why I can't really comment on it until it's officially announced," Kane told Sky Germany.

"We'll have to wait and see what happens. I obviously know Thomas very well from the last year. He's a fantastic coach and a fantastic person. I'm sure the FA will contact me when they know more about this issue."

Meanwhile, Lee Carsley, who had been in the running for the role, appeared to rule himself out of contention. "I've not really thought much about it. I keep saying the same thing. My remit was six games and I'm happy with that. This is a privileged position. I'm really enjoying it but I didn't enjoy the last two days," he told ITV.

"I'm not used to losing in an England team, I don't take losing well. People are always going to try and put their chips on one side. I'm in the middle. My bosses have made it clear what they need from me. This job deserves a world class coach who has won trophies and I am still on the path to that."