Rio Ferdinand returns to Thomas Tuchel’s complaints and calls for the selection of England manager | football

The Football Association has now reached agreement for Tuchel to become Gareth Southgate’s permanent successor, with the 51-year-old signing an 18-month contract worth around £5million a year.

The FA, who have also held informal talks with Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, have come under fire from some supporters for not looking at English candidates such as Graham Potter and Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe.

But Ferdinand insists the fans don’t care about the English manager’s nationality and believes Tuchel, who has won league titles with Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain, as well as the Champions League with Chelsea in 2021, is the best candidate available.

“I heard rumors that they are talking about Pep and want to get Pep, but obviously the situation with Man City he is there, he has a contract, it makes it difficult,” Ferdinand said on his YouTube channel on Tuesday evening.

‘Thomas Tuchel is the third non-English permanent manager of the England team after Sven-Goran Eriksson, god rest his soul, and Fabio Capello – two managers I played for.

“I think it’s a controversial issue for a lot of fans, not all, but a lot of fans, I don’t know what the percentage is.

‘I’ve seen murmurings, I’ve seen articles written by people, ‘The FA should be patriotic, we need English managers, there are many good, young English managers waiting’, Graham Potter, I kept seeing his name put there.

‘You want the best to do it. I don’t care, I’m one of them, if we win the World Cup or the Euro, all the people who wrote the article, I’ll save it, because they will scream, waving their legs, lose their voice, drink 12 pints after and celebrate, and they will not talk about, ‘oh no, we have Germans who govern us’.

“It will not be a conversation because if he (Tuchel) wins, it will not die.

“It’s an opportunity for these guys to become immortal, and that’s why I think Thomas Tuchel is licking his lips, it’s an opportunity to put himself above anyone in this country at the moment, along with Sir Alf Ramsey.

‘Big names tried, big names, personalities and characters tried, quality coaches tried, couldn’t deliver. It’s an opportunity that’s in front of them and I think it’s a great place to be.

‘The biggest thing is that I think whoever takes the reins of this squad is sitting there, ‘that’s a long way from winning two finals and I’m coming to save the day’. What an opportunity.

‘It’s not like he’s going into a knee-jerk, old and past squad, he’s going into a young, energetic, confident, aggressive team that’s just sitting there,’ someone takes his hand and leads us, leads us through the line, someone led us to the promised land in English clothes, we took to the door, we knocked but could not pass’.

Ferdinand then added: ‘I think we have as good a chance as you can imagine to win the tournament now.

“I would say if Thomas Tuchel would win a tournament in England when he was England manager, I would do it now.

‘I don’t think there’s too much to add to the ingredients, we’re into the finals, what else do we need to add to the melting pot?

‘Gareth Southgate, the only thing that can be reduced is his ability to understand and know how to win. Maybe you can talk about a slightly looser and less conservative playing style, which might be what he’s holding on to. I don’t think I’ll be talking about Thomas Tuchel.’

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