Eddie Howe has worked wonders at Newcastle United in a relatively short space of time, and the Toon Army would’ve been incandescent if the former Bournemouth man decided to throw his hat into the ring for the England manager’s job when Gareth Southgate vacates.
That’s expected to be as soon as the end of Euro 2024, unless the Three Lions win their first major title since the 1966 World Cup, in which case Southgate will surely find it much harder to walk away.
Fortunately for anyone of a Magpies persuasion, Howe is going nowhere according to The Telegraph (subscription required).
By effectively ruling himself out of that particular race, it only leaves two standout candidates.
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One of those is Nottingham Forest’s 43-year-old manager, Steve Cooper, who worked successfully at various England youth levels between 2014 and 2019, before taking up his first club managerial post at Swansea – the pre-cursor to his appointment at Forest.
The other candidate named by The Telegraph is ex-Chelsea man, Graham Potter.
As he’s not taken up any role since he was sacked by the Blues during the season, any approach from the FA could be dealt with swiftly one way or the other.
That would surely be a preference for all concerned, as the last things Southgate would want is for anything to distract from the next stage of England’s eternal quest on the pitch.
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