14 Managers Who Could Replace Gareth Southgate For England

Key Takeaways

• Gareth Southgate quit as England manager following defeat to Spain in the Euro 2024 final.
• Lee Carsley is the front-runner to replace Southgate as the ex-midfielder has been promoted from Under-21s boss to interim manager of the senior side.
• 14 potential candidates have been ranked from least to most likely to take over as England’s permanent manager.

After eight years, 102 games, two European Championship finals and a World Cup semi-final, Gareth Southgate announced that he was stepping down as England manager following defeat to Spain at Euro 2024. The 53-year-old took charge of the Three Lions back in 2016, replacing Sam Allardyce, and went on to become one of the country’s most successful ever managers.

For all his critics, Southgate achieved feats that none of the others who came before him came close to doing. It means that whoever comes in to replace the former defender has got some big shoes to fill. As speculation begins to mount, everyone is bound to have their own opinion as to who is the right man for the job.

Lee Carsley was seen as the front-runner in the eyes of many off the back of his first two games as the interim boss, but a disappointing loss to Greece followed by some bizarre post-match comments have seen his odds slashed considerably. Below, we have created our own list of the 14 most probable names to take over ahead of the 2026 World Cup, using some key factors to help rank our selection.

Ranking factors

• Past links to the England job
• Availability
• Experience of English football
• General success as a manager

14 Sarina Wiegman

Current Job: England Women

Sarina Wiegman has done a fantastic job on the international scene in her career so far. Indeed, before taking charge of the England Women’s team, she won the UEFA Women’s Championship with the Netherlands in 2017, while also finishing runners-up with them at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Incredibly, she has matched this feat with the Lionesses, winning the 2022 Euros but sadly falling short at the final hurdle yet again at the World Cup the following year.

For all her success, she certainly would make a strong and exciting candidate to come in and replace Southgate. Her current relationship with the FA could also make for a smooth transition. However, it would be patronising to assume she would want to swap women’s football to try her hand in the men’s game, which is why Wiegman doesn’t feature as a more likely option on this list. The decision to hire a woman in such a prominent role in men’s football sadly still seems very unlikely too.

13 Jurgen Klopp

Current Job: Red Bull’s Global Head of Soccer

Jurgen Klopp left Liverpool at the end of last season, and then became the best out-of-work manager in the world. He has spoken about not wanting to manage another English club, but that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t necessarily be interested in coaching the national team instead.

With that said, it was recently announced that the German is set to become the global head of soccer for the Red Bull sporting group in a role that will see him offer advice on coach development, tactics and transfers. Unless things go pear-shaped, he might be unavailable to England for a while and that’s why he’s ranked so low.

12 Brendan Rodgers

Current Job: Celtic

Brendan Rodgers may be from Northern Ireland, but the ex-Liverpool and Leicester City manager has previously been mentioned in conversations surrounding the England managerial role. He has returned to Celtic to win the Scottish Premiership in the 2023/24 season after a downward spiral at the King Power Stadium saw Leicester drop into the Championship.

He’s no longer viewed as the exciting, young manager he was when breaking onto the scene with Swansea City, but Rodgers is still a vastly experienced boss who could get the talented players in the Three Lions squad playing good football. Granted, it’s unlikely the FA would look in his direction in 2024.

11 Jose Mourinho

Current job: Fenerbahce

Whenever the England job becomes available, Jose Mourinho is a name that always crops up as a potential candidate for the role. The Special One is an enigma in football. A unique personality unlike any other. He’s seen success at the likes of Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and AS Roma.

Mourinho wins trophies wherever he goes, aside from Tottenham Hotspur. He’s spoken in the past about turning down the chance to take over as Three Lions boss and while he’s only recently joined Fenerbahce, he shouldn’t be completely ruled out of the running to replace Southgate. His odds just aren’t as high as they will have been previously.

10 Michael Carrick

Current Job: Middlesbrough

Michael Carrick is unlikely to have done quite enough to be seriously considered for the senior England role at the time of writing. The Manchester United legend is still finding his way in the world of management and has plenty of time to lead the Three Lions in the future.

He was understated in his role as a midfield general during his playing days, but Carrick does appear to have an authoritative presence on the touchline for Middlesbrough. The 43-year-old has the Championship club playing entertaining football and will ultimately be hoping to guide them back into the top flight. This will draw a lot more attention his way if he’s successful.

9 Ange Postecoglou

Current Job: Tottenham Hotspur

Having only arrived in England just over a year ago, and having made a brilliant start to life as Tottenham Hotspur’s manager, this feels like an unrealistic option. He’s already proven himself in Britain with an outstanding tenure as Celtic manager, while the 59-year-old also has experience on the international stage too, as Australia’s boss between 2013 and 2017.

What’s more, his ability to bring the good vibes back to Spurs after years of misery, echoes what Southgate did when taking charge of England. It’s certainly an outside shot but could be one to consider. He was even quizzed about the possibility in October 2023, he replied: “Oh, come on mate.” Before adding: “Stranger things have happened, but no.”

8 Steven Gerrard

Current Job: Al-Ettifaq

Steven Gerrard had an outstanding career in the Premier League as a footballer but has failed to deliver the same level of quality from the touchlines. The Liverpool legend lasted just 11 months in charge at Aston Villa, before getting the sack following the club’s sixth defeat in 11 league games.

In his final season, he won just two of 12 Premier League matches and his failings were cast in an even poorer light when Unai Emery took over and managed to get the Villans into Europe before the campaign was over. Gerrard has since found himself another job and is now working for Saudi Pro League club Al-Ettifaq and hasn’t massively impressed there. Still, given his playing career, it feels unwise to completely rule him out of the running as a possible future England manager.

7 Kieran McKenna

Current Job: Ipswich Town

It’s no secret that Kieran McKenna was being tracked by some of the biggest clubs in the country after steering Ipswich Town to back-to-back promotions. Both Chelsea and Manchester United were said to have been interested in luring the young boss away from the Tractor Boys in the summer, but he ultimately opted to sign a new deal at Portman Road.

While his ambitions could well go beyond his current status as Ipswich Town’s manager, McKenna is one of the younger candidates on this list and has been extremely clever in his coaching career thus far. Taking the brave decision to leave the coaching staff at Man United, everything has been positive for the Northern Irishman ever since. He may not be one for now, but definitely keep an eye on McKenna in the coming years.

6 Frank Lampard

Current Job: None

After an average spell with Derby County, Frank Lampard was fast-tracked by the powers that be at Stamford Bridge and handed the Chelsea manager’s job. It didn’t go well for him at the club where he shone for many years, but he still managed to land on his feet as he took charge of Everton next. While he initially helped keep the Toffees from relegation, that was about as good as it got for the Englishman as he was fired the following season with just three wins from 20 games in the Premier League.

Remarkably, he was later handed a second shot at Chelsea, tasked with steadying the ship following Graham Potter’s woeful time in west London. This went even worse than his first spell, though, as the Blues crashed out of the Champions League and slumped to a 12th-placed finish in the Premier League. With all that in mind, despite having done nothing to prove he is a good enough coach to be appointed as England manager, Lampard still appears to somehow be in with an outside shout of landing the job.

5 Pep Guardiola

Current Job: Manchester City

The Manchester City boss makes this list as he has already been touted as a name to be targeted by the FA after Southgate left his job following Euro 2024. The timing could work out well too, with Pep Guardiola’s contract at the Etihad set to expire in 2025.

This would be the biggest coup for England, and it would be fascinating to see just what would happen if he did take charge – from crazy tactical decisions to inspiring potential Ballon d’Or winners – but it remains unclear if the 53-year-old would have any interest in taking the job. Still, he could be open to a new challenge and international football is one area of the game Guardiola has yet to conquer as a manager.

4 Eddie Howe

Current Job: Newcastle United

As Eddie Howe took his plucky Bournemouth side from the precipice of League Two all the way up into the top flight, there were shouts that he could one day be the national team manager. His time at Newcastle United since then probably hasn’t done him any harm on that front either.

Still, with the Magpies now funded by the limitless wealth of the Saudi Public Investment Fund, you get the sense that they could eventually opt to put their faith in a more glamorous manager. A difficult 2023/24 season didn’t help Howe’s cause either. If those in charge at St James’ Park opt to cut ties with the 46-year-old, he would be an obvious name to end up in the England hot seat.

3 Lee Carsley

Current Job: England Interim Head Coach / England U21s

While he may have been a Republic of Ireland international – who made 40 appearances for his nation between 1997 and 2008 – Lee Carsley is more recently appreciated for what he has achieved in England. After all, the 50-year-old brought glory to the nation’s footballing youth in 2023 by winning the Euro U21 tournament.

Seeing as Southgate managed the England U21 team before being promoted to the senior job in 2016, it wouldn’t be a shock if the FA tried to repeat this trick once more. It worked out well last time, so why not do it again? Especially considering some of those successful youngsters will soon be involved in the first team. Currently acting as interim boss, things started well for the former Everton man, but a frustrating result against Greece, followed by some questionable comments in his post-match press conference that implied he wanted to go back to the under-21s has seen Carsley’s chances at landing the permanent gig take a bit of a hit.

2 Thomas Tuchel

Current Job: None

Like Klopp, Thomas Tuchel is one of the high-profile European managers to have left his club at the end of the 2023/24 season. His time at Bayern Munich wasn’t a resounding success, but he did win the Bundesliga and his past achievements undoubtedly prove his credentials as a top coach.

After all, he led Chelsea to a Champions League triumph. That experience in knockout football, coupled with his understanding of English football, makes him a perfect candidate to replace Southgate. It was even reported that he was keen on the England job after being sacked at Stamford Bridge, so this could be an appointment to please all parties.

1 Graham Potter

Current Job: None

While Carsley and Tuchel are enticing options, it’s hard to look beyond Graham Potter as the most likely individual to be handed the job. Although his spell with Chelsea was fairly disastrous, considering all the chaos surrounding the west London club, he can hardly shoulder all the blame.

It shouldn’t be forgotten that Potter did brilliantly to forge a career in the top flight from humble beginnings, impressing at Ostersund and Swansea City before ending up at Brighton, where he established himself as one of the brightest young coaches in world football.

Still only 49, the Englishman will have learned from his time at Stamford Bridge and can take that experience into his next job. What’s more, considering his mild-mannered approach with the press, it does feel as though he’d be a natural fit to come in and take over from Southgate.

Statistics are courtesy of Transfermarkt. Correct as of 11/10/24.