Inside Thomas Tuchel's decision to sign new England contract and snub Man Utd move

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Thomas Tuchel will sign a new two-year contract and stay until after Euro 2028 - after finding the England job to be “a lot of fun.”

The Football Association are expected to confirm plans before today’s Nations League draw in Brussels with Tuchel in attendance in Belgium. But Tuchel , who took over in January 2025, has agreed a two-year deal which will take him past this summer’s World Cup and he will be in charge for the “home Euros.”

It is a major coup for the FA as there has been strong interest in Tuchel - including from Manchester United - but the fact is that the German has surprised even himself about how much he is enjoying the role.

Tuchel oversaw a perfect World Cup qualifying campaign, has been absolutely committed to planning for the summer in terms of the base camp and has embraced his new life.

The 52-year-old has based himself in London, is a regular at St George’s Park and has become very accustomed to travelling around the country to watch games. Tuchel was at West Ham on Tuesday, Anfield last Sunday and has become a regular figure in Premier League boardrooms.

He has also engaged in speaking to players via phone, text and Zoom and has slowly overcome the frustration of missing training sessions “out on the grass.”

There have been controversies along the way - most notably a very public own goal by claiming that his own mother finds some of Jude Bellingham ’s on-pitch behaviour “repulsive” - but generally it has been very positive.

That led to Tuchel saying in November that he was ready to stay and was open to signing a new deal. He said back then: “It is a lot of fun. It is a lot of fun especially since we are on track in the last two camps but it was from the start.

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"There is nothing to announce at the moment but I'm very happy with the ways things go and I think the federation is quite happy with the way things are.

“I am in a good place mentally because I love the team, I love the support from the federation and I love the direction where its heading and that's the main focus. I haven't thought so much about my contract but we have time for that.”

FA chief executive Mark Bullingham is perhaps Tuchel’s biggest fan and, having been a huge supporter of former boss Gareth Southgate , has found himself working with a very different character.

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But that in itself is different and a new challenge but one the FA have enjoyed because they believe Tuchel is an elite coach, they love his passion and the way he has embraced the job.

There has perhaps been a clue that Tuchel was going to stay because he is attending the Nations League draw which starts in September and that accelerated discussions. Tuchel, on £5m-a-year, has huge bonuses written into his contract and that will remain the case for his two year extension.

But the biggest thing was the FA did not want the World Cup campaign to be dominated by questions about the manager’s future and whether he was staying on.

United interviewed Tuchel two years ago but decided to stick with Erik ten Hag in what was a farcical managerial search. Tuchel loved the idea of Old Trafford - but was not impressed by the way it was handled. With United having since sacked ten Hag and Ruben Amorim , they have Michael Carrick as interim but if they went down the route of a big name then there would be no better candidate than Tuchel.

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That door is now closed, his future is sealed and that is reassuring for the FA and also makes questions easier when he speaks in Brussels at the draw.

But the FA have been burnt in the past. They famously extended Fabio Capello ’s contract before the 2010 World Cup amid stories suddenly appearing in Italy about interest from Serie A clubs.

After a brilliant qualifying campaign, the World Cup went south and that then looked a seriously bad decision which came back to bite them as he quit ahead of Euro 2012 to leave them in the lurch. But the FA have seen enough in Tuchel to believe his heart is in the job - and that is why he will stay.

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