With Gareth Southgate's days as England manager all but over, the favorites to replace the 53-year-old have been revealed.
Southgate led the Three Lions to another European Championship final, taking on Spain in Euro 2024's ultimate fixture. However, Kane and Co. came up short once again, this time losing 2-1 in normal time to La Roja.
While the FA wishes to keep ahold of Southgate and is even ready to offer a two-year extension to his current deal, which expires this December, Gareth is expected to walk away.
A succession plan has thus been prepared, with five candidates shortlisted as potential replacements for the current boss, three of which have admirers within the FA.
They are Eddie Howe, Graham Potter, and Mauricio Pochettino, three well-known tacticians. The latter two are currently unemployed after being sacked by Chelsea while Howe is currently in charge at Newcastle.
While the former Bournemouth boss is happy at St. James' Park, according to the Daily Mail, he would consider an approach from the national team should that arrive. The report adds that the 46-year-old enjoys the admiration of FA technical director John McDermott.
Pochettino would also be open to the job. While he is Argentine — the FA would prefer to appoint a homegrown manager — his nationality should not rule him out of this race.
England U21 boss Lee Carsley is expected to be interviewed as well. Thomas Tuchel, who was sacked by Bayern Munich after they lost the Bundesliga title to Leverkusen, has also been linked while former Premier League players turned managers Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard are outside candidates.
Southgate became the first England manager to lead the national team to a major tournament final on foreign soil — the 1966 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2020 finals were both held at Wembley. Nonetheless, his team came up short once again, and with the Three Lions returning to action in September, the team could have a new manager in the dugout in a few months.
