The Football Association has identified Pep Guardiola as its dream target, but is not hopeful of securing a deal for the Manchester City manager, with Lee Carsley no longer considered to be England’s permanent manager.
The FA included Guardiola on its shortlist at the start of a process to find a successor to Gareth Southgate and is believed to have contacted him at the start of the season to gauge his interest. Representatives of other candidates believe that Guardiola is the best choice.
However, a deal would be difficult to close. Guardiola is out of contract next summer and said on Italian television at the weekend that “anything can happen” regarding his future, but he will have to accept a significant pay cut to take the England job and will not be short of offers if he leaves City, who are desperate for him to stay.
The unemployed Thomas Tuchel is another option, although he would also have to take a pay cut. He is believed to have reservations about the role. Eddie Howe and Graham Potter are the leading English candidates. Howe is focused on his work at Newcastle, where his contract has a release clause of around £5m. Potter is between jobs, having left Chelsea in April 2023. It is unclear whether Potter wants to manage England at this stage of his career; there is a sense that he is leaning towards a return to the club’s management.
Carsley will remain in charge temporarily for the final set of Nations League group games in November, but is not considered a long-term solution. There have been serious doubts about whether he wants the job and it has been impossible to ignore the fallout from the 2-1 defeat to Greece at Wembley last Thursday and Carsley’s struggles since to effectively communicate his position. He has consistently refused to steer himself in or out of the race. The expectation is that he will return to his job as England Under-21 coach.
The FA has maintained it has an extensive process it is working through. After the November games, England are scheduled to play in March, where they will start their World Cup qualifiers, unless they compete in a Nations League playoff.
Recruitment is led by the FA’s technical director, John McDermott, and Mark Bullingham, the chief executive. Bullingham indicated in June that he would be happy to appoint a head coach from abroad, saying that England Women’s head coach, Sarina Wiegman, is Dutch. Carsley has made it clear he does not want to have a say in the choice of Southgate’s permanent successor because he has enough on his plate, but he believes the choice does not have to be English.
“It’s important that the best candidate gets the job,” Carsley said. “We’ve seen in the past that we’ve had different nationalities coaching the teams, so the best candidate should get the job. We’d be putting ourselves in a corner if we didn’t open our minds a bit. It’s important that any job, there’s a vacancy, you know … everybody who’s at that level should apply.”
after newsletter promotion
Carsley dodged a question about whether he would work as an assistant to a new England manager. “Well, I really enjoy my work, [with] 21,” he said. “I work for a great organization. It will be up to John and my bosses to choose what I do. Whatever I’m asked to do, I do.”
Carsley’s standard move has been shown to be a side jump. He was once again asked if he wanted to be considered for the full-time position. “Well, I’m doing the job, so I imagine I’ll be considered,” he replied. Can he be described as a candidate? “I’m currently doing the job, the task hasn’t changed…I know I keep saying the same answer!” At which point Carsley leaned forward with his head in his hands, like a player who has scored an own goal.
Carsley responded with a question when asked what he had found to be the most difficult aspect of the England job. “What, except for this bit [talking to the media]?” he replied, which was revealing. “The hardest part would probably have been the last few days because I’m not used to losing. With the 21s we win a lot of games, so every time I go to camp I generally win two games and go home. So losing a game at Wembley in front of a full house was something I really took personally.”