Thomas Tuchel comments could spell bad news for Trent Alexander-Arnold with England

With Thomas Tuchel agreeing to become England’s new manager, will obviously be wondering what the appointment means for him – .

According to , Tuchel will become England’s third non-British manager after Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello, having agreed a deal following an approach from the FA. Manchester City boss had of leading the Three Lions in a recent interview.

Tuchel will be responsible for leading England into a new era following the departure of Gareth Southgate after defeat to Spain in the final of Euro 2024. Since then, Lee Carsley has been in interim charge, with Alexander-Arnold thriving under his tutelage.

Having been regularly overlooked by Southgate, the 26-year-old has started each of England’s last four games, . Unfortunately for Alexander-Arnold though, Tuchel’s arrival could see him left waiting in the wings again.

The German is a big fan of Reece James, having worked with him during his time as Chelsea manager. Tuchel made James a pivotal part of his team at Stamford Bridge, playing him at right-wing back or as part of his back three.

In fact, Tuchel’s love for the defender went as far as suggesting he wanted to clone him. “I would love to have two of Reece James, that would solve the problem, it’s like 50% towards wing-back and 45% towards the back three,” Tuchel said in 2022.

Whatever his position, it seems a good bet that Tuchel will try to find a place for James in his side. Explaining what he feels his best position is, the German said: “It's a bit of an advantage to have him in the back three because it's less physically demanding. But this is the next step.

“How many games can Reece play at wing-back? If he plays at wing-back during the season on a level where he is decisive, it is a bit less physically demanding in terms of acceleration and high speed in the back three. This helps us have him on the pitch for more minutes.

“He can play both positions brilliantly, we only have him once and we need to decide, but this is why we have him there at the moment. I love him in both positions.”

Of course, getting James out onto the pitch could prove a big problem for Tuchel, given the defender’s countless injury problems in recent years. It seems though the new England manager might have eyes for another right-back other than Alexander-Arnold.

Last summer, while Tuchel was still manager of Bayern Munich, he was linked with a move to sign Kyle Walker at the Allianz Arena. In fact, according to , Tuchel was the main driving force behind the idea as he valued the City star’s experience and mentality.

Ultimately though, Walker would reject the move to Bayern, despite verbally agreeing to join the German giant (as per ). Whether that snub has changed Tuchel’s opinion enough for him to not consider the City defender remains to be seen, although it would appear that Alexander-Arnold might have his work cut out for him again to get into the England side.