James has key advantage in Alexander-Arnold battle after Tuchel announcement

Reece James has returned to Chelsea first-team training after recovering from a serious hamstring injury just as former Blues boss Thomas Tuchel has been announced as the next England head-coach

Thomas Tuchel with Reece James during a Chelsea match

Thomas Tuchel with Reece James during a Chelsea match 

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Thomas Tuchel will become the new England head-coach in 2025. The former Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Bayern Munich coach has agreed an 18-month contract which will guarantee his place as Three Lions boss until the 2026 World Cup in America, Canada and Mexico.

The ex-Chelsea boss will take over from Gareth Southgate after the former Middlesbrough and Aston Villa defender stepped down as manager following England's Euro 2024 campaign.

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Tuchel, who left Bayern Munich at the end of last season, said: "I am very proud to have been given the honour of leading the England team. I have long felt a personal connection to the game in this country, and it has given me some incredible moments already.

"To have the chance to represent England is a huge privilege, and the opportunity to work with this special and talented group of players is very exciting.

"Working closely with Anthony [Barry] as my assistant coach, we will do everything we can to make England successful and the supporters proud. I want to thank the FA, in particular Mark [Bullingham] and John [McDermott], for their trust and I am looking forward to starting our journey together."

Tuchel's England career will begin on Wednesday, January 1, 2025. Interim boss Carsley will remain in charge for England's final UEFA Nations League games next month as the team travel to Greece and host Republic of Ireland.

One player who will certainly be hoping to make an impact once Tuchel is in post is Reece James. The Chelsea captain has missed much of the last two years through injury, making only 16 Premier League appearances in 2022/23, 10 in 2023/24 and none so far this season after returning to first-team training this week.

Naturally, James will have to prove his fitness for the Blues before being able to think about a return to the England team, with his last of 16 Three Lions caps coming in 2023. While he has been away, Kyle Walker has continued his dominance in the position, and Trent Alexander-Arnold has recently been making waves.

However, the new manager has already shown he is a huge fan of the 24-year-old. And with his positional flexibility, James may offer Tuchel the ideal option in defence - alongside the Liverpool star.

"I would like to have two of Reece James, we would have the problem solved," Tuchel said back in 2022 at a time when he was playing a Chelsea system featuring a back-three in defence with wing-backs, with James adept either at wing-back or on the right side of the centre-backs.

Thomas Tuchel makes clear Chelsea hint in first England new manager message after appointment

"But it's maybe 55% toward wing-back and 45% to the back-three, it depends a little bit also like how the opponent plays against us: do we expect a lot of possession, how is their structure for their offensive transition? For this it can be very helpful for us if Reece plays in the back three to be the first guy to cover in the transition and be not involved in the attack so we have his speed and physicality in the protection of the opponents' counterattacks. These are the thoughts about it.

"But like I said, I'm leaning a bit more into that his very best position is the wing-back position where he's maybe even like more decisive, more useful. But it's more demanding and the next step is to be a regular player over 50, 55, 60 matches and from there we have to decide. But both positions are filled with top quality with him."

While James has since been unable to meet those standards physically due to injury, he could offer Tuchel the ideal solution to England's dilemma on the right side of defence alongside Alexander-Arnold in a 3-5-2 formation.