Previous Chelsea manager, Thomas Tuchel is set to become the new England manager, following Gareth Southgate who managed the Three Lions between 2016-2024.
In his time at Stamford Bridge, Tuchel managed 100 games, winning 63 times, drawing 19 times, and losing 18 times. His points per match came to 2.08, scoring 197 goals and conceding 105 over this time frame.
The German has a variety of ways he could set up with England, having had great success in a back three for the Blues, but also opting for back four formations with the likes of PSG and Bayern Munich, where he won domestic league titles for both.
English Chelsea players Tuchel managed
During his time at Chelsea between 2021-2022, Tuchel managed multiple other English talents, including Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Trevoh Chalobah, Conor Gallagher, Tammy Abraham, Ben Chilwell, Reece James, Ross Barkley, Mason Mount, and Raheem Sterling.
Gallagher is the only name of those above who has found himself frequently in the England squad in recent times, with Chilwell and James struggling from injury issues, and the likes of Sterling and Mount struggling for form.
Mount could be an interesting case for Tuchel if he gets back to full fitness, something he has struggled to do at Manchester United. The 25-year-old made 195 appearances for Chelsea, scoring 33 goals, providing 35 assists, and totalling 13,959 minutes played.
He was a favourite with the German, largely for his off-ball work rate, and ability to play in more of a hybrid role, playing as an inside forward who could operate in both the half spaces and out wide.
Of course, another player on that list who still plays for the Blues would be captain James, who would also be extremely likely to feature for the Three Lions under Tuchel if he could get back to full fitness. His ability to play as both a right-sided centre-back in a back three, as a right-wing back, or as a nominal right-back in a back four, would give Tuchel that tactical versatility he desires.
Loftus-Cheek was another example of a player used in that swiss-army knife fashion under the new England boss, as the central midfielder was often deployed as a right-wing back under the German, even making an appearance as one of the central defenders in a back three.
The main thing to takeaway from this is that Tuchel will want versatility from his players, and part of his squad selection will probably be determined by having multiple swiss-army knives at his disposal, allowing him to make those changes in-game to stay on top of things.
One player who played under Tuchel at Chelsea who could find a role for himself in this new-look Three Lions side, is Callum Hudson-Odoi, who played as a wingback and a forward for the former Bayern Munich coach in his time at Chelsea.
Hudson-Odoi under Tuchel at Chelsea
Hudson-Odoi came through the Chelsea academy, making his senior debut in January 2018. He went on to make 126 appearances for the Blues, scoring 16 goals and providing 21 assists while totalling 6,449 minutes played.
Under Tuchel, Hudson-Odoi was deployed in a variety of roles, playing both the left and right inside forward, as a left and right-wing back, and even as a centre-forward in one game.
This tactical variety that the youngster gave his side was part of the reason he was heavily utilised by the German, totalling 1,876 minutes that season, despite only starting 21 games.
Goals
0.24
0.15
Assists
0.24
0.20
xG
0.14
0.26
xAG
0.23
0.22
Progressive Carries
6.65
5.68
Progressive Passes
5.35
4.75
Shots Total
1.99
1.71
Key Passes
2.19
2.30
Shot-Creating Actions
4.65
5.47
Successful Take-Ons
1.35
1.65
You can see by the metrics the transformation of Hudson-Odoi under Tuchel, with his output going down, his progressive numbers falling, but his key passes, shot-creating actions, and successful take-ons going up. Much of this has to do with the role change, playing as more of a wing-back.
In this role, the current Nottingham Forest ace was expected to contribute to both phases of play, tracking back defensively, but also providing width when in possession, stretching the pitch high and wide, and providing the team with an outlet.
This would allow him to find 1v1 situations to take on his man, create shots for himself and others, and play more key passes, often playing clipped passes towards the back post.
The 23-year-old has now moved on to Forest, joining them in 2023 for just £3m. Since then, Hudson-Odoi has made 42 appearances for the club, scoring nine goals, providing two assists, and totalling 2,695 minutes.
How Tuchel could set up at England
There are two ways Tuchel is expected to set up with this England side, one of those being a more common 4-2-3-1 shape, something used by Southgate already for England, and the other being what many saw at Chelsea, with his 3-4-3 shape.
The Three Lions clearly have the personnel to play either of these formations, with someone like Saka being an option for right-wing in a back four, but also a left-wing back in a back five, which could see him highly favoured by the German if we are going of off previous examples.
The new manager will also have plenty of selection headaches, one of the main ones being Cole Palmer or Phil Foden as a number ten, and whether to play Jude Bellingham deeper in midfield to accommodate for one of these other talents.
But if Tuchel’s previous jobs are anything to go by, we can expect plenty of versatility, good usage of all the tools at his disposal, and maybe even some new roles for players we haven’t seen yet. Either way, it’s going to be exciting to find out.
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