England manager Thomas Tuchel wants FA to hire 2 key members from Chelsea backroom staff - Reports
Newly appointed England manager Thomas Tuchel is reportedly set to raid Chelsea as he looks to assemble his backroom staff at the Three Lions. The German wants head of performance analysis James Melbourne and goalkeeping coach Henrique Hilário to join his staff.
As per a report in The Times, Tuchel wants to have the best people around him after penning a deal with The FA. He has Anthony Barry, who worked with him at Chelsea and Bayern Munich, as his assistant, while Ashley Cole is also set to be a part of his staff.
Thomas Tuchel was without a job after leaving Bayern Munich at the end of the 2023/24 season. The German tactician was heavily linked with Manchester United and reportedly held talks with the Red Devils in the summer. However, a move failed to materialize as the United hierarchy chose to stick with Erik ten Hag.
After his unveiling as England manager, Tuchel spoke to the official website and admitted that he was nervous. He said:
“I’m a bit nervous. It’s a big day to be announced as England head coach. I think it’s good thing to be nervous and I’m honoured. It’s a big privilege for me and it comes with huge responsibility. We will give our very best to live up to it, to make our supporters proud, to make our team better and to achieve our big goal in 2026.”
Thomas Tuchel excited to be back in England after Chelsea stint
Thomas Tuchel has stated that he loved working at Chelsea and living in England. The German won the UEFA Champions League and the FIFA Club World Cup at Stamford Bridge before he was sacked days after the 2022 summer window closed.
Tuchel spoke about his time in the United Kingdom and said:
“I loved living in England and I loved the work in England and the approach to football here. The excitement around football was an amazing experience for me. It was my big wish to come back to England and work in England, so to do that as the national coach is simply amazing. We can’t wait to start in January and have the first camp with the players in March.”
When quizzed about why he picked England and what excited him about the job, he added:
“There are many reasons. It’s a new schedule for me, coming from club football – but it’s the FA, with the biggest tradition. It’s the Three Lions. It’s the country with the most competitive league and it’s an extraordinary squad of players. Competing with this country and this group of players for the biggest prize was very quickly very exciting for me and my staff. That’s why we didn’t need long to think about it.”
While Thomas Tuchel has been unveiled, the former Chelsea manager will not be in the dugout during the November games. He starts on January 1 and his first national camp will be in March 2025.