England set to name Lee Carsley as interim manager following Gareth Southgate’s exit

England under-21s head coach Lee Carsley will be in the dugout for the Nations League

(The FA via Getty Images)

Lee Carsley is set to succeed Gareth Southgate as England’s interim manager following his success with the under-21s in last year’s European Championship, according to reports on BBC Sport and other outlets.

The 50-year-old was among the names that were mooted after Southgate resigned from his post off the back of England’s defeat by Spain in the Euro 2024 final last month.

Carsley led his England football team under-21s side to the 2023 Euros final, where they beat Spain 1-0 to lift the trophy for the first time in 39 years.

England are set to play Republic of Ireland and Finland in the Nations League next month.

Along with the former Premier League defensive midfielder, former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp was mentioned as a possible replacement for Southgate. However, that never appeared a realistic prospect and it now seems likely that Carley will emerge the next England head coach, albeit in an initial caretaker role.

This is a position that the former Everton and Derby player is already familiar with, though, as he took charge of Coventry, Brentford and Birmingham on an interim basis before joining the England set-up in 2020.

Equally, the progression from youth team head coach to men’s senior team boss is no strange trajectory at St. George’s Park, as Southgate, along with Howard Wilkinson and Stuart Pearce, also made a similar transition.

Southgate then went on to produce an impressive run over his eight-year spell, reaching the World Cup semi-final in 2018 and two Euros finals in 2021 and 2024.

But, after his side lost 2-1 to Spain in a disappointing final, and having previously been criticised for his tactical judgement in the lead up to the defeat, the time had come for Southgate to vacate his role.

The Football Association, without directly commenting on a potential replacement, published a job advert on their website shortly after Southgate’s resignation.