Next England manager odds: Favourites to take over as Gareth Southgate resigns

Gareth Southgate has stepped down as England manager following the Euro 2024 final defeat to Spain.

Southgate’s current contract with England was due to expire in December and he has now stepped down after 102 games in charge.

“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.”

Southgate was in charge for eight years since swiftly replacing Sam Allardyce in 2016, leading England through four major tournaments.

During Southgate’s tenure, England have reached the semi-final in three of their four major tournaments, only failing with a quarter-final exit at the 2022 World Cup. Two of those semi-finals have led to finals, with England achieving back-to-back appearances at the European Championship.

As a result, some called for Southgate to be given two more years in reward for England making it deep at Euro 2024. But England did fall short yet again. Having come from behind against Spain, England looked to be taking another European Championship final to extra-time. But a momentary defensive lapse late on saw England hearts broken once more.

Who will replace Southgate as next England manager?

There are currently two favourites leading the race to replace Southgate and they’re both ex-Chelsea managers.

The first is Graham Potter, who has been linked with a few jobs since being sacked by Chelsea last year. The Stamford Bridge job is a bit of a poisoned chalice but it did still give a slight knock to Potter’s reputation after his work at Brighton. He has since been linked with a return to Brighton, as well as jobs at Ajax and Leicester, but the former Chelsea boss isn’t rushing back and weighs up his options. Could he be waiting for the England call?

And then there’s Mauricio Pochettino. The most-recently departed Chelsea manager, Pochettino has been linked with the England job before and didn’t leave the Blues because of his inability as a manager. Sure, his time at Stamford Bridge wasn’t perfect, but Pochettino wanted more say in the transfers and didn’t want to be instructed on how to play by the higher ups. There wouldn’t be any problems with that at England.

Also high up on the list is Eddie Howe, who seems an ideal choice for many and has been tipped to manage England for some time. He made a name for himself in lifting Bournemouth into the Premier League and making them mainstays, before taking Newcastle to the Champions League.

Last season was a bit of an underwhelming one for Howe, but he still has his backers.

Lee Carsley is also an option. Carsley is the current head coach for England’s under-21 side so is already bedded into the FA’s system. Under Carsley, England won the 2023 under-21 Euros, beating Spain in the final. Under-21s to senior team is a path that Southgate himself took when replacing Sam Allardyce in 2016, so this wouldn’t be a left-field appointment.

Slightly further out for odds are a pair of dream moves in Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp. The latter is now a free agent after leaving Liverpool, having lost the energy for management. But international management is a less demanding beast, so the German could be persuaded to end his break. Guardiola, meanwhile, hinted that this could be his last season in charge of Manchester City, which will on fuel links to international management.