Thomas Tuchel ‘holds talks with FA over becoming England manager’ after Three Lions bosses contacted Pep Guardiola for the role – amid uncertainty over Lee Carsley

Thomas Tuchel is reportedly in talks with the FA to become England’s next manager, with the German coach emerging as the leading contender for the role.

Tuchel, 51, has been out of the game since leaving Bayern Munich at the end of last season.

He was previously manager of Borussia Dortmund, PSG and Chelsea, among others, with whom he won the Champions League with The Blues in 2021.

Lee Carlsey is currently in interim charge of the Three Lions and has won three of his four games so far, although there are growing expectations that the former Republic of Ireland midfielder will return to his role as England manager after the November international break Under 21.

Several candidates – both English and foreign – have been touted as the permanent successor to Gareth Southgate, who left his role after England’s final defeat to Spain in July.

Mail Sport reported earlier in September that the FA had begun private investigations into the appointment of external candidates, including Pep Guardiola who was approached before the start of the season.

And now according to Sky Sports NewsTuchel is in talks with the FA to become the next England boss.

The report claims he is now in pole position for the role, with his representatives in talks with the FA, having made an approach over the past two weeks, also saying they have completed the search for a new manager in the past week had accelerated.

The German coach would be seen as a sensible choice for an England side looking for their first trophy in almost 60 years, highlighting his trophy-winning pedigree as a coach.

At PSG he won six honours, while also leading Bayern to the Bundesliga title and winning the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup while in charge of Chelsea.

However, he can also be considered controversial as he is a non-English coach, with England not having had a foreign manager at the helm since Fabio Capello left the role in 2012.

Tuchel would also become only the third non-English manager to coach the England men’s team if he gets the job.

Since leaving Bayern this summer, Tuchel has been linked with several big jobs across Europe, including Manchester United. The 51-year-old held talks with Sir Jim Ratcliffe in Monaco in the summer before withdrawing his interest.

The talks with Tuchel also come after the FA contacted Manchester City boss Guardiola about the role.

Guardiola has long been seen by many in the FA as the ‘dream candidate’ to replace Gareth Southgate.

The chances of interim boss Carsley remaining in office are diminishing by the day following the humiliating defeat to Greece last week and the coach’s increasingly confusing comments about his suitability for the role.

Even Carsley himself doesn’t seem to want the job, with the boss saying he would “hopefully… go back to the job.” [under]-21s’.

He then caused further confusion after another victory over lowly Finland, claiming the Three Lions role was reserved for ‘a world-class coach who has won trophies’, before later emphasizing that this did not rule him out.

The FA have taken an open approach to their next appointment and considered Carsley a genuine candidate. But given his public polling, there has been a feeling lately that he may not be ready for the top job.

Guardiola’s contract at City expires in the summer and it seems unlikely the Spaniard would leave before then, which could spell trouble for the FA as there are likely to be six England games in that window, although Carsley has already committed has committed for the November matches against Greece. and Ireland.

Nevertheless, there is a feeling among leading members of the FA hierarchy that Guardiola would be worth the wait.

England would not be able to match Guardiola’s current salary at City, which could pose an obvious stumbling block.

But the England head coach job is one of the highest-paid international coaching positions in the world. For example, Southgate earned around £6 million a year.

Meanwhile, speaking shortly after leaving Chelsea in November 2022, Tuchel had opened up the possibility of moving into international management at some point in the future.

‘Yes, why not [take charge of a national team]?,’ he had said. ‘I would, I would. I haven’t thought about it too much until now.

‘But I would consider it if it is the right team and if it has the potential to win trophies like the World Cup and the European Championship.

“I see where you’re going [with England]. But I think England have a good coach at the moment.

‘The team is very strong and very talented. As for anything else, I won’t comment.”

After their clashes with Greece and Finland last week, England currently sit second in their Nations League group.

The Three Lions are back in action next month with a trip to Greece and a home game against Ireland.

It is expected that Carsley will take charge of both matches, although given the discussions with Tuchel, the FA may have already appointed a permanent successor to Southgate by then.

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