Thomas Tuchel loses key ally as new England boss dealt blow before officially starting

Thomas Tuchel is in the process of building his backroom staff (Image: Getty)

Zsolt Low will not be part of Thomas Tuchel’s backroom staff in England.

The German boss was appointed as the new Three Lions manager last week, replacing Gareth Southgate in the role after he walked away from the position over the summer after his side’s defeat in the final of the Euros.

Tuchel has penned an 18-month contract with the Football Association (FA) which will begin on 1 January 2025, though work is ongoing for the former Chelsea manager to build his backroom team ahead of taking the reins of the squad.

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It has been announced that Anthony Barry will be Tuchel’s assistant at Wembley Stadium, having worked with the 51-year-old at Chelsea before making the move to Bayern Munich last summer as well.

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However, Tuchel will not be joined by Low in his new role. According to m4sport.hu, the former defender has ruled that he will not be part of the England national team staff as he would like to pursue his ‘own path in football’.

Low had worked with Tuchel at Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Bayern, with their friendship initially forming during his playing days at Mainz, while Tuchel was manager of the Bundesliga outfit.

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Zsolt Low has decided against joining the Three Lions (Image: Getty)

The Hungarian started his coaching career at Red Bull Salzburg before becoming their assistant manager. He was then named the assistant at sister club Red Bull Leipzig, and his role at the Bundesliga outfit prompted Tuchel to pounce and reunite with his ex-player.

Speaking after joining Bayern Munich, Low opened up on the nature of his work with Tuchel, saying: “There was chemistry between us even when I was a player at Mainz in 2009. We’re on the same wavelength.

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Low has worked with Tuchel at Chelsea and Bayern (Image: Getty) READ MORE Gary Lineker amused by Germany's reaction to Thomas Tuchel joining England

“We’ve been working closely together since Paris. I appreciate how he involves me, with the training planning, match planning, leading training, tactics. We make a lot of decisions together and work as a team. We spend more than 300 days a year together – more time than with our families. A friendship has developed between us.”

With Low’s role extending beyond the realms of a typical assistant manager previously, his absence from Tuchel’s team with England is likely to be a blow to the German boss and he will hope that he can acquire other individuals who can step up in his absence, whoever they may be.

Thomas Tuchel loses key ally as new England boss dealt blow before officially starting

Thomas Tuchel loses key ally as new England boss dealt blow before officially starting

Thomas Tuchel loses key ally as new England boss dealt blow before officially starting

Thomas Tuchel loses key ally as new England boss dealt blow before officially starting

Thomas Tuchel loses key ally as new England boss dealt blow before officially starting