Who could be the next England manager? Leading candidates from Klopp to Potter

Graham Potter is the early favourite to succeed Gareth Southgate after he announced on Tuesday that he is leaving the England job after eight years in charge.

Southgate led the Three Lions to successive European Championship finals, in 2021 and 2024, and also reached the World Cup semi-finals in 2018 and quarter-finals in 2022. However, he endured a barrage of criticism during his side's run to the final at Euro 2024 this summer and has decided it is time for the national team to head in a fresh direction.

"As a proud Englishman, it has been the honour of my life to play for England and to manage England," said Southgate. "It has meant everything to me, and I have given it my all. But it’s time for change, and for a new chapter."

Below we look at the likely candidates to succeed Southgate.

Graham Potter

Potter has been out of work since leaving Chelsea in April of last year and is the early favourite for the job.

Southgate was strongly rumoured to be stepping down post-Euro 2024 and the fact that Potter has been turning down jobs had already raised the prospect of him taking over the national team. Potter was offered the chance to return to Brighton earlier this summer and also turned down the Ajax job towards the end of last season.

The preference at the Football Association will always be to appoint a homegrown manager, especially as it chimes with the 'England DNA' programme they have worked hard to roll out at St George's Park, and which Southgate was so integral to.

Potter is seen as a modern coach with progressive tactical ideas, a collaborative mindset and skilled in working with emerging talents – all of which are extremely appealing characteristics as far as the FA are concerned.

Working against Potter will be his disastrous spell at Chelsea where he clearly failed to get big name players to buy into his methods. He also struggled terribly with the increased media attention which doesn't bode well for taking the highest profile coaching job in the country. That was also an area where Southgate excelled.

Mauricio Pochettino

If England wish to go down the route of appointing a foreign manager, then another ex-Chelsea boss in the shape of the Argentine Pochettino will be very high on their list. It does remain a big "if" though, given the aforementioned work on the 'England DNA' programme.

Pochettino is a self-confessed lover of English football and is available immediately having left Stamford Bridge this summer. He is also still considered an elite coach and potentially a sizeable upgrade on Southgate.

The 52-year-old also has a reputation of being skilled in working with younger players and is an expert in dealing with the media. He also has a close relationship with captain Harry Kane and his work in bringing the best out of Cole Palmer last season won't have gone unnoticed.

Eddie Howe

Appointing the Newcastle United manager could be achievable for the FA if rumours of a £5m buyout clause in his contract at St James's Park are true, and Howe is willing to walk away from what is a plum Premier League job.

In terms of reputation and his recent body of work, Howe is probably the best English coach in the game at the moment. The 46-year-old, one of only three English managers in the Premier League next season, would be a popular choice. Howe is media-savvy and projects a positive and consistently sensible image that would go over well as national team boss.

His stock is high having delivered Champions League football at Newcastle for the first time in 20 years and twice previously guiding Bournemouth to top-flight promotion with the type of attacking football England fans have been demanding.

Jurgen Klopp

If the former Liverpool boss was even remotely interested in the role, then surely his application would be impossible to turn down. Klopp has said he does not want to manage another Premier League club but whether he would be interested in becoming England’s first German manager is another matter.

However, Klopp, one of the managerial greats of this era, has stressed time and again that he will be taking a significant break from coaching and tempting him away from his sun lounger so early into his sabbatical might prove tricky.

Pep Guardiola

Should the FA aim for the very top, then the best manager in world football is currently working in Manchester and, no, sorry, we are not looking at you Erik. The consensus is that Pep Guardiola is surely nearing the end of his all-conquering spell in charge of Manchester City - his contract expires in the summer of 2025 - but could he be tempted to have a crack at ending England's long wait for major international silverware? It seems a fanciful suggestion but why wouldn't the FA at least sound him out?

Lee Carsley

The former Derby and Everton midfielder has enjoyed remarkable success as England Under-21s boss, guiding his side to the title at the European Championship last summer. Birmingham-born Carsley won 40 senior caps for Republic of Ireland and recently turned down the full Irish national team job.

At 50, he has a wealth of coaching experience with Coventry, Sheffield United, Brentford, Manchester City, Birmingham and England U20s. He is embedded within the England set-up and, should he be in contention, he would follow the same path as Southgate in graduating from the U21s to the senior job.

Who else might be in the running?

Another name being mentioned is that of former Chelsea and Bayern Munich coach Thomas Tuchel who is currently a free agent. Former England international players like the Al Ettifaq manager Steven Gerrard and the out of work Frank Lampard are considered rank outsiders, as are other domestic coaches such as Steve Cooper or Southgate's now former assistant Steve Holland.

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