Ex-FA technical director claims Gareth Southgate should be replaced by surprise candidate

A former FA technical director has named his ideal replacement for Gareth Southgate as England manager.

After England’s exit from the 2022 World Cup against France, Southgate’s future was plunged into darkness.

However, the Three Lions boss agreed a deal to stay on as manager until the end of 2024.

Now, former FA technical director Les Reed has named his ideal candidate to replace Southgate.

He told The Sun: “Gareth transitioned a lot of U21 players into the set-up because he knew them.

“If we don’t consider Lee Carsley, we shouldn’t have considered Gareth Southgate.”

Reed added: “We had a group capable of winning the World Cup but we did not capitalise on that talent. We went the celebrity, hobby manager route.

“Don’t get me wrong — if Pep Guardiola wants the job and is passionate about it, we know he has the capability to get the best out of players. But it’s not a hobby job. It’s not, ‘I’ve won everything, I’ll have a go at international football’. We’ve seen that before.”

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Prior to becoming England manager, Southgate was in charge of the U-21 side, taking the youngsters to glory at the Toulon Tournament in France back in 2016.

Current U-21s boss Lee Carsley led the team to the U21 Euro after beating Spain 1-0 in the final back in July.

Reed added: “We have all these exciting players, including a whole cohort who have won championships at age-group levels.

“This is the four years when those players should develop into a trophy-winning side. Research showed most World Cup winners had coaches with experience of age-group international football.”

England are back in action on Tuesday as they take on Italy in a Euro 2024 qualifier.

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