Thomas Tuchel questioned by United great Gary Neville

Manchester United legend Gary Neville has made some interesting claims about Thomas Tuchel becoming the new England national team manager, with the former Red Devils and Three Lions defender admitting he feels the Football Association have some difficult questions to answer about this appointment.

Tuchel was officially confirmed as Gareth Southgate’s replacement today, with the German tactician looking like probably the biggest name available as he’d recently left his position at Bayern Munich at the end of last season.

England perhaps did well to move for Tuchel when they did, as the Times have reported that Man Utd recently spoke to the former Chelsea boss and made it clear he’d be their number one target if they eventually decided to make a change from Erik ten Hag.

Tuchel looks like a strong candidate and there’ll surely be a few United fans frustrated to see him no longer available, and Neville has offered some interesting insight in his interview with Sky Sports below…

“We don’t have a clear identity as an English nation of what we are any more” ????????

Gary Neville says English coaching is one of the ‘least respected’ big nations in Europe when it comes to taking charge of a football team ? pic.twitter.com/0J9BR49v5t

— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) October 16, 2024

While Neville is mainly focusing the fact that England didn’t go after an English coach, he also admits Tuchel was probably the strongest candidate available at this moment in time.

That perhaps hints Neville would have welcomed Tuchel as United manager, but it clearly wasn’t to be, with Ten Hag still in the job and surely safe for a bit longer after a lack of action by the club over this international break.

Will Man United regret missing out on Thomas Tuchel?

Tuchel will now get the chance to show MUFC what they missed out on as he prepares to take charge of England, but it seems he’ll have to do a bit of work to win over critics like Neville.

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England have had foreign coaches before in Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello, but there is perhaps a case for saying that now is looking like a particularly promising time for English coaches, as the likes of Graham Potter or Eddie Howe could have been worth considering.

It will be interesting to now see how Tuchel’s decision impacts Ten Hag’s job safety at United, or the potential candidates they look at to replace him if he does leave.