Eddie Howe: Newcastle manager was not interviewed for England job

The FA confirmed the appointment of German manager Tuchel on Wednesday, making him the third non-Englishman to coach the senior men’s team.

Howe, while saying he would have preferred an English coach to have been given the job, was full of praise for the 51-year-old.

He said he had shadowed Tuchel for a couple of days while the German was manager of Chelsea and had learned a lot from the man who guided the Blues to the Champions League title in 2021.

“I’ve got a relationship with Thomas and I was lucky enough to go and see him work at Chelsea when I was out of work,” Howe, 46, said. “What a brilliant guy. What a great person. What a great coach.

“I had two days with him and thought he was fascinating, and I wish him well. I think he’s a great appointment and I hope he leads England to many trophies.

“My preference would have been for an English coach but if you are going to go foreign then go for the best and Thomas is certainly that.”

It is not known whether Howe’s agents and representatives were spoken to by the FA regarding the England job.

Tuchel’s appointment as a non-English manager of the men’s England team – following Swede Sven-Goran Eriksson and Italian Fabio Capello – has raised questions about the pathway for English managers to elite level jobs.

Former Newcastle and England striker Alan Shearer had said on Wednesday that he was “surprised” Howe was not approached by the FA.

When asked if he was comfortable with Tuchel being appointed, Shearer told The Rest Is Football podcast: “If he is the outstanding candidate, yeah.

“But what would be a little bit of a concern is the pathway for English coaches.”

He added: “I’m happy in a way because Newcastle are not losing their manager. He [Howe] is an outstanding manager and would have been the main English candidate for me. To know he has not even been sounded out is very surprising.”