Former England strikers Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker believe the Football Association moved quickly to secure the appointment of Thomas Tuchel before Manchester United firmed up their interest in the German.
Tuchel was this morning named the new England boss, signing a deal that will see him, at a minimum, guide the Three Lions through to the end of the 2026 World Cup finals.
The 51-year-old reportedly spoke to United minority owner Jim Ratcliffe over the summer before the club opted to keep Erik ten Hag and hand him a contract extension.
But with Ten Hag failing to impress at the start of this season, the Dutchman’s job is again under threat with Tuchel likely to have been one of the leading candidates to succeed him at Old Trafford.
The FA revealed Tuchel signed his contract on October 8, the same day United board members held a meeting in London to discuss various club matters, including Ten Hag’s future. It was also just two days after United’s drab 0-0 at Aston Villa as they recorded their fifth game on the trot without a win in all competitions.
— England (@England) October 16, 2024
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Shearer – Man Utd job could become available soon
Speaking on the Rest is Football podcast, Shearer said: “They [the FA] have looked at whoever and come up with Thomas Tuchel and thought there is a real live chance he could get the Man United job pretty soon.
“If they didn’t act quick, now, they weren’t going to get one of the outstanding candidates for the England job.
“There is every chance that vacancy could become available soon.”
Lineker admits timing is odd
Lineker agreed, adding: “We know they [Man United] went for Tuchel in the summer and it didn’t happen so maybe the FA were thinking ‘crikey, we don’t want to miss out to Man United’ and maybe it pushed them.
“It does seem slightly odd the timing, because reports are he is not going to do the job until the start of the year. Lee Carsley is going to get three camps, I suspect he knew because his quotes were slightly informative in a way.
“Particularly after the second game they won, he stipulated that England need a manager who has won trophies.”
Tuchel will take over on January 1 with Carsley continuing in an interim role for the final two Nations League group games against the Republic of Ireland and Greece.
He has experience of working in England after a 20-month spell in charge of Chelsea which saw him help the London club to their second Champions League crown in 2021.
Tuchel has also won trophies with Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich in a career that has seen him earn a reputation as tactically astute, demanding but also confrontational – an approach that has seen him fall out with various directors and owners.
