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Gary Lineker has revealed that Lee Carsley would have been his preferred choice to be the permanent England manager as the Football Association (FA) prepare to unveil Thomas Tuchel as the new holder of the role.
Former Chelsea and Bayern Munich boss Tuchel is set to be announced as Gareth Southgate’s permanent successor this week, ending several months of specualtion.
Carsley has been fulfilling the brief on an interim basis since Southgate stepped down after Euro 2024, with the England Under 21s manager producing mixed results.
An encouraging first period in charge saw him guide England to wins over the Republic of Ireland and Finland, but questions about his suitability to step up full-time were raised by a home defeat to Greece last week.
That loss at Wembley was followed by a strange press conference with Carsley perhaps knowing he was unlikely to fill the post permanently, though Lineker still believes that the 50-year-old would have been a good candidate.
“I’d have given the job to Lee Carsley,” the former England stirker toldThe Rest is Football podcast. “I have seen enough to suggest to me the players really trust him.
“And he is imaginative enough to produce something that is a joy to watch, is entertaining and front-footed football. I’d have gone for Lee Carsley (but) it is not my job to pick people like that.
“‘I really liked him. But I could tell he knew he was not getting the job. I suspect between his first camp and sometime before the Greece game [he knew].
“I would have [appointed him] because I would have looked at the recent history of international football, the two winners of the last two international tournaments [Spain’s Luis de la Fuente and Argentina’s Lionel Scaloni] had no real experience of coaching outside the national set-up.”
Tuchel is set to become the third non-English manager of the men’s senior side after Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello.