He was previously linked with the Manchester United job.

A surprise contender for the England job has emerged following Thursday night’s damaging 2-1 defeat to Greece – and it could have major implications for Manchester United.

Interim manager Lee Carsley was widely criticised after he decided to experiment in the Nations League clash.

Instead of replacing the injured Harry Kane with an out-and-out striker, Carsley fielded three attacking midfielders – Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Cole Palmer – as well as Bukayo Saka and Anthony Gordon to provide width.

After the final whistle, he was criticised further after admitting that they worked on the system “for 20 minutes” in training.

It didn’t stop there, either. In his post-match press conference, the interim boss then appeared to pour cold water over getting the England job permanently, saying he was “hopeful” of returning to the under-21’s set-up.

Now, in an unexpected twist, it appears Thomas Tuchel could be in line to become the next England manager, according to BILD reporter Christian Falk.

It is believed the former Chelsea and Bayern Munich manager is currently in negotiations to take the role.

Tuchel is one of the top candidates to replace Erik ten Hag if the Dutchman is relieved of his duties at Manchester United, but this latest development could put a dent in United’s plans.

United spoke to a number of high-profile candidates during a strategic review this summer, including Mauricio Pochettino, Marco Silva and Thomas Tuchel, who was previously ‘first in line’ to take the job.

In fact, Tuchel’s name has once again been thrown around of late but it was reported this week that the former Borussia Dortmund manager has not been approached by United about the role.

Image credit: Getty

As mentioned earlier, Lee Carsley opened up on his desire to return to the under-21’s during his press conference on Thursday night.

“I was quite surprised after the last camp in terms of the job’s mine and it’s mine to lose and all the rest of it,” he said.

“My remit has been clear. I’m doing three camps, there’s three games left and then hopefully I’ll be going back to the 21s. It’s had almost no impact.”