German Thomas Tuchel’s appointment as England boss later today is slammed by football pros

Former footballers and managers have criticised the FA’s decision to appoint Thomas Tuchel as the next manager England manager.

The German has agreed to become the new manager of the Three Lions and is expected to fly in this week to sign a contract worth £5million a year.

The former Chelsea boss will be only the third non-English manager of the men’s England team and some within the game believe the top job should not be given to a foreign coach.

Manager Harry Redknapp, a former contender for the job himself, was disappointed by the FA’s decision to look abroad for their next appointment.

The former football boss told Sky Sports: ‘I wanted an Englishman to manage England. I’m very patriotic and I think we should have an English manager.

‘But the field was very small to choose from because Englishman don’t get jobs managing in the Premier League very often now. All the clubs are owned by foreign owners and they bring a foreign manager in.’

Thomas Tuchel has has agreed to become the new manager of the Three Lion and is expected to fly in this week to sign a contract worth £5million a year

The former Chelsea boss worked with England captain Harry Kane (pictured with Jude Bellingham) at Bayern Munich last season

Manager Harry Redknapp, a former contender for the job himself, was disappointed by the FA’s decision to look abroad for their next appointment

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. 

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. 

But Redknapp does not believe the 51-year-old’s record warrants his appointment into international football. 

He added: ‘He’s lost his job quite quickly at a couple of clubs. It’s not like he’s been a massive success. He’s come and gone at a couple of clubs. He’s not been like Jurgen Klopp who has stayed at club many. many years. 

‘People keep saying ‘you have got to be a great coach’ and ‘this man is a great coach’. There are no great coaches. You have to have a bit of common sense, pick the best players, put them in the right position, get the best of out of them, build an atmosphere and make them feel great about themselves. That’s what it is.’

Stuart Pearce believes a lot will be immediately expected of Tuchel – who will replace Gareth Southgate at the helm.  

He told: ‘When Gareth left in the summer people were saying, ‘We need to go the next step.’

‘Where is the next step from getting to finals and being runner-up? The next step is winning trophies. That will be the expectation and I think he’s got a really tough tournament in a year-and-a-half to attempt to win the World Cup in the (United) States, Mexico and Canada. That’s a tough prospect.’

Former England defender Danny Mills said there were a ‘few surprises’ around Tuchel’s appointment: ‘He is an exceptional coach. There are a few surprises. I don’t understand why he starts in January. 

‘Who is going to be picking the team in November? Will Tuchel be at the games? Will he have any input? And the FA need to answer why not an Englishman? Why have they gone down a foreign route again? But I will Tuchel is a fantastic coach and will do very very well.’

Redknapp (pictured) does not believe the 51-year-old’s record warrants his appointment into international football 

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

But some within the game were more positive about the appointment. Former Liverpool, Blackburn and Aston Villa defender Stephen Warnock said Tuchel had a ‘clear identity’ in his style of play. 

Warnock said: ‘I like the appointment. I think he has a clear identity. He doesn’t have to sign players, so just focusing on the best players might just suit him. 

‘I do see the argument where does it leave English coaches but I think he will bring English coaches in.’ 

Former England defender Matthew Upson said Tuchel ‘ticked most boxes’ as football manager. 

 He said: ‘I think its a good appointment. He ticks most of the boxes; the trophies, the clubs he has managed, his charchter. He has handled tricky situations in the media so he has the profile to handle being the England manager. 

‘is it a preference they are English? Yes. But ultimately we want to put the best person in place, who we fell will win a major tournament.’ 

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. 

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.