Thomas Tuchel during an England press conference
Thomas Tuchel during an England press conference (Image: Eddie Keogh - The FA/The FA via Getty Images)
Thomas Tuchel has not even managed his first game as England boss yet but he has already made an almighty impression.
This week has offered the first glimpse of how the Tuchel era will differ from Gareth Southgate's reign and what has been clear from the outset is the German's ruthless self-assuredness.
Eyebrows were raised initially at his first squad announcement last Friday when he recalled 34-year-old Jordan Henderson, who now spends his days playing in the Dutch Eredivisie with Ajax, and gave 32-year-old Newcastle United defender Dan Burn his first call-up.
Yet, after one eloquent yet forthright explanation of why both players' leadership qualities were vital to achieving England's ultimate goal of winning the World Cup, critics were left questioning why the decision was ever questioned in the first place.
Burn went on to score and produce a man-of-the-match display as Newcastle ended their 70-year domestic trophy drought with Carabao Cup success at Wembley on Sunday and it wouldn't be a surprise if he was to start for England at the same stadium this evening in their opening World Cup qualifier against Albania.
The Newcastle defender spoke of Tuchel's ability to disarm players with his humour and put them at ease in a pressure-cooker environment. A number of players have praised the 'sharpness' of his training sessions and Tuchel has repeatedly said his team's identity will be underpinned by 'intensity'. Aston Villa forward Morgan Rogers praised his 'aura'.
That could not have been more evident in Thursday's press conference, when he said Southgate's side played with a 'fear of losing' rather than a belief they would win in last summer's European Championships, despite reaching a major tournament final on foreign soil for the first time in history. Harry Kane agreed with his former Bayern Munich boss.
It is his 'aura' that the players must buy into if they are to take that next step to win a trophy and it is something that Southgate, with all of his unifying qualities, arguably lacked.
It is why, of course, Manchester United were keen to appoint Tuchel as Erik ten Hag's successor last summer and why Ineos held talks with the 51-year-old. After all, this is someone who has managed Borussia Dortmund, PSG, Chelsea and Bayern Munich, won league titles and domestic cups in Germany and France, and the Champions League while managing in England.
His track record is proven and before a ball has even been kicked in his England tenure, fans, journalists and pundits alike are already buying into Tuchel's vision. If United had managed to convince him to take the reins at Old Trafford, it is inconceivable to think they would be 13th in the Premier League right now.
Ruben Amorim has shown positive signs of improvement since his appointment in November and could end the season with Europa League success. But there is no doubt that Tuchel's performances in the press have already shown United missed a trick in failing to convince him to replace Ten Hag ahead of this season.
If he can get a tune out of Marcus Rashford for the Three Lions, too, it will only re-emphasise that theory.