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Sunderland's Sam Allardyce has been hired as the head coach of the English national team. The 61-year old took over the Black Cats in October, replacing Dick Advocaat, and successfully steered his team out of the relegation zone.
It's official. We are delighted to announce that Sam Allardyce is the new manager of the #ThreeLions! pic.twitter.com/7L3y9S62TP
— England (@England) July 22, 2016
Of course, with Allardyce taking over England, that means Jurgen Klinsmann will remain in charge of the United States men's national (as coach and technical director) for the time being. We don't know how close he was to taking the position, as reports ranged from "England hasn't contacted U.S. Soccer and this is speculation is a waste of time" to "It's very, very serious."
The coaching carousel will continue to spin. Klinsmann will eventually be linked to another job, and I will write blogs about the chances of it happening and the potential fallout. Some of you will click, some of you won't. Life goes on.
Shifting to the slightest less nihilistic reality, Allardyce taking the England job has a direct impact on Tottenham and USMNT fullback DeAndre Yedlin. The 23-year old Seattle-native spent last season on loan with Sunderland and took noticeable strides forward in his game. The Black Cats expressed interest in bringing him back for 2016-2017 with a loan or transfer. Yedlin referred to the potential return as "Awesome" in a Facebook Q&A.
This latest development throws a wrench in that potential move, although it could still happen. However, it's unlikely Sunderland's new coach would have the same interest in Yedlin as Allardyce.
It's an awkward position for the increasingly-less-young fullback who needs consistent playing time in order to develop. Tottenham has been entertaining transfer and loan deals (although the fee they're demanding is reportedly too high), so it doesn't seem like he'd be playing too many matches at White Hart Lane this season.
To summarize, England found a coach, the U.S. retained a coach and a technical director they may not have been in danger of losing, Yedlin's club situation remains up in the air, and I ate a cheeseburger for lunch. It was okay.