‘The England manager should ALWAYS be English!’: Jamie Carragher insists the FA should NOT consider Mauricio Pochettino, Thomas Tuchel or Brendan Rodgers as the next Three Lions boss should Gareth Southgate step down
Jamie Carragher has waded in on the debate over who should be next England manager, insisting any successor to Gareth Southgate ‘should always be English’.
Alarm bells have been ringing at the Football Association after Southgate hinted that he could leave his post as England manager following their World Cup quarter-final exit at the hands of France.
Several names have already been linked with Southgate’s job as a result, including the likes of Mauricio Pochettino, Thomas Tuchel and Brendan Rodgers.
Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher insists the England manager should always be English
Carragher gave his view on the debate with Gareth Southgate’s future as England boss unclear
However, Liverpool legend Carragher believes the Three Lions job should only be taken if you were born in England, ruling out the three aforementioned candidates.
He tweeted: ‘The England manager should always be English!’
As it stands, there is no obvious English candidate to replace Southgate. Newcastle boss Eddie Howe and Chelsea head coach Graham Potter are widely-recognised as the two strongest English managers in the Premier League at the moment.
But there is a significant doubt over whether either are prepared to leave club football at this moment in time.
Frank Lampard, currently Everton boss, and Steven Gerrard may also emerge as home-grown candidates.
Rodgers has admirers at the FA, but while he has spent the vast majority of his coaching career in England the current Leicester boss is Northern Irish. Steve Cooper, currently at Nottingham Forest, could be an option but he is Welsh.
Pep Guardiola would be viewed as a dream appointment, but the Spanish boss has only recently signed a new deal at Manchester City.
Pochettino and Tuchel would both be interested in the England job if it became available, but there has been doubt over whether they would even be considered given they are Argentinian and German, respectively.
Southgate is thinking about walking away from the job after crashing out of the World Cup
However, the FA will take an open-minded approach should Southgate depart and will consider all options in order to make the best possible appointment.
Pertinently, England’s Lionesses were lead to World Cup glory by Sarina Wiegman – who is Dutch – earlier this year.
The FA’s post-Covid budget is also likely to be factor should the organisation move to appoint a new boss.
The governing body suffered huge financial losses – as high as £300million – as a result of the pandemic.
Southgate’s current deal is understood to be worth in the region of £6m a year, an amount significantly less than what Rodgers, Pochettino and Tuchel are used to earning.
In particular, releasing Rodgers out of his deal with the Foxes, would cost millions given his £8m salary.
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe (left) and Chelsea head coach Graham Potter (right) are widely-recognised as the two strongest English managers in the Premier League
England players have been left second-guessing whether Southgate intends to continue in the job.
Members of the Three Lions squad, who want their boss to stay, are well aware of the possibility of Southgate leaving and have been looking for clues towards their managers decision.
Southgate did not address the issue with his squad during the tournament, leaving them looking for an subtle indicators from their manager.
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