Thomas Tuchel has already had awkward meeting with England star as deal is announced
Tuchel has been announced as the new manager of England, and will already be familiar with one member of the Three Lions squad from his time in club football
Tuchel will be familiar with former Chelsea captain Gallagher (Image: Getty)
New England head coach Thomas Tuchel previously endured an awkward interaction with former Chelsea captain Conor Gallagher in a pub. The Three Lions embark on a new adventure with German Tuchel at the helm, with the 51-year-old announced as the man who'll likely guide the side into the 2026 World Cup.
He'll not be treading completely uncharted waters however, as there are a string of possible call-ups who Tuchel will be famialir with. Captain Harry Kane featured under the German at Bayern Munich for one season, and a range of former and current Chelsea stars - such as Reece James, Mason Mount, and Raheem Sterling - all played under his direction at Stamford Bridge.
There's also ex-Blues captain Conor Gallagher, who has been included in the England set-up as of late, but shares a mixed relationship with the national team's new boss.
Gallagher, who shone brightly during his loan stint at Crystal Palace through 2021 and 2022, found himself in an awkward position when Palace reached an FA Cup semi-final - only to be pitted against his parent club, Chelsea, where Tuchel held the reins.
"It was really hard," Gallagher told Sky Sports last year. "Obviously to be on the journey with Palace, to get to the semi-final was great. To get to the semi-final, you want to play in that as well. It was annoying that it came against Chelsea."
The 24-year-old then shared the bizarre experience when he and his family bumped into England's new head coach at a pub, with the cup tie on the horizon.
"I was out for lunch with my parents and my girlfriend," Gallagher remarked. "He [Tuchel] turned up with a couple of the staff. It wasn't even me [who spoke to Tuchel], it was my dad! He goes, 'any chance of him being able to play in the semi-final? ' and Tuchel just went, 'no chance'. He just laughed it off."
Gallagher was later reprimanded by Tuchel for a sending-off (Image: Getty Images)
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Gallagher eventually became a mainstay in the heart of Chelsea's midfield, but left for Atletico Madrid this summer, where he has already netted twice and seems to be flourishing under manager Diego Simeone, reports the Mirror.
Yet, whilst under Tuchel, Gallagher was often sidelined before the German's dismissal after just six matches into the 2022/23 season, and suffered a reprimand for a red card early in the term during a match against Leicester - signalling that his prospects under the German for England may perhaps be in jeopardy.
"You can't make the [second] challenge if you have a yellow card after 20 or 25 minutes," Tuchel commented post-victory over the Foxes in 2022, criticising Gallagher's dismissal.
"The challenge was a clear yellow card and gave us a huge disadvantage. There was no reason to make this decision. He is responsible for what he did, and of course, he knows it was a huge mistake."
