It is no surprise that Eddie Howe is the favourite to take over from Gareth Southgate, so says former England winger Darren Anderton.
On Tuesday, The Football Association (FA) confirmed Southgate was stepping down as England manager following the 2-1 Euro 2024 final defeat to Spain.
The 53-year-old led the Three Lions to two European Championship finals during his eight-year spell in charge, managing 102 games during his tenure, and winning 61 of those.
Speculation over who will become the next England manager is rife, with Howe reportedly on the FA's list of targets.
Anderton, who played in Euro 1996, believes the Newcastle United manager would be the perfect fit.
"It's no surprise that he has been touted for it. I think it's something that's been talked about for quite a few years actually, that he's got all the credentials from coaching wise to the job he's done at Bournemouth and then, of course, Newcastle," Anderton told Stats Perform.
"That was a lot of pressure to go up there and do what he's done when Newcastle were really, really struggling. I think that he's loved up there, fans love him, players love him, so I would not be surprised, and he would be for me, he's the one to do it and he's got the right mentality.
"I see some way Gareth handles things. I see Eddie in the same way, so for me, he would be the one to be offered the opportunity."
Another name rumoured to be an option is former Tottenham, Paris Saint-Germain Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino, who is still out of management following his departure from the Blues after just one year in charge.
"Yeah, I think if it's not going to be an Englishman, if it's not going to be Eddie, then Pochettino all day long for me," Anderton added.
"I think he's done great things with young players starting at Southampton, playing a brand of football, coming to Tottenham, getting the best out of players, young players, making them better players, giving them the freedom to play and express themselves.
"Pochettino would be fantastic, I think. The only thing that goes against him, I would say, is not being English."
Pochettino is not the only former Chelsea boss linked with the position, with Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter also reportedly in the running, though Anderton thinks the latter is the more likely candidate.
"[Tuchel is] a top coach, top manager who has done it [at a high level]," Anderton said. "Some jobs he's been better than others, but I can see why his name's thrown in there. But I don't see him as the man to take over.
"[Potter is] an English manager. I think we all probably would prefer that.
"Brighton were a fantastic watch. Whether he's coached enough to then take on this job, that would be my worry. And of course, his last job [at Chelsea] didn't go as he would have liked."
If the FA do not find a replacement before the Nations League matches in September, Under-21s manager Lee Carsley could be placed in interim charge.
He would follow Southgate's route into the top job in that case, and Anderton noted the FA could look to follow that model again, though he is concerned about Carsley's pedigree.
"When [Carsley's] name was thrown into the hat, to me, it's a shock for the same reason as others that haven't seen him," he said.
"There are so many good coaches that don't make good managers, but this, to me, seems like probably too big a job. But I would probably have thought the same when Gareth first got the job.
"So, the FA will see that Gareth's appointment has most certainly worked. And, for that reason, it wouldn't surprise me if they chose to go down that route again."
Neymar suffers fresh injury blow
Neymar sustained a new injury as he was forced off during Al-Hilal's AFC Champions League Elite win over Esteghlal.
Aleksandar Mitrovic plundered a hat-trick on Monday to seal a 3-0 win.
But Al-Hilal's victory was soured by an injury to Neymar, who had to make way just 29 minutes after he came on as a second-half substitute.
The Brazilian, who has just returned from over a year out of action following a serious knee injury, was forced off with what appeared to be a thigh issue.
Indeed, Monday's appearance was only the 32-year-old's second for Al-Hilal since his comeback.
He has featured just seven times for the Saudi Pro League champions in all competitions since his big-money move from Paris Saint-Germain in 2023.
Rodgers delighted as Celtic rout Aberdeen in semi-final
Celtic booked their place in the Scottish League Cup final after hammering Aberdeen 6-0 at Hampden Park on Saturday.
The 21-time winners of the tournament were inspired by a Daizen Maeda hat-trick in a near-perfect performance against the Scottish Premiership's second-placed side.
Manager Brendan Rodgers was delighted with the result and performance from his side.
"It was a testament to our players and the demands they have. They play every week in big games. We have to manage this group through every game," he told Premier Sports.
"It was up to us to decide the game and the players did that. They were brilliant today. We were more aggressive in the second half.
"Aberdeen have had an excellent season, they will continue to work well I'm sure."
The result was Aberdeen's first defeat in 17 matches in all competitions this season, with a 2-2 draw at Celtic Park last month the only time they had previously failed to win.
Cameron Carter-Vickers got the scoring under way with a header 29 minutes in, before the brilliant Maeda sat down goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov to set up Kyogo Furuhashi for a second three minutes later.
Maeda then got in on the act himself on 40 minutes before the game briefly descended into farce on the stroke of half-time, with Rodgers shown a yellow card for kicking away a ball that had gone out before slipping over.
"To be fair, I was raging because we had given the ball away," he said.
"I have my moments, like every manager. It was just the game, even though we were comfortable at 3-0.
"It was a deserved yellow card. The speed of the ball [was the issue]. I just wanted to keep the tempo of the game."
Celtic and Maeda picked up where they left off in the second half to make it 4-0 in the 50th minute before Nicolas Kuhn hammered in a fifth on the hour.
The rout was complete when Maeda wrapped up his hat-trick as he finished off a flowing attacking move with five minutes to go.
After the match, Rodgers continued to be effusive about his team, who will face either Rangers or Motherwell in the final.
"An outstanding team performance. You come up against a team that has been so, so good. We knew it would be a challenge," he told BBC Scotland.
"We had to bring our A-game and the players did that, in particular during the second half.
"We were ruthless. We worked the ball really well to create the space and made good runs.
"It's a beautiful pitch here at Hampden. It's perfect for the football we want to play."
Arsenal deserved to lose against Newcastle, says Arteta
Mikel Arteta was left frustrated by Arsenal's performance in their 1-0 defeat away to Newcastle United on Saturday.
The defeat left them third in the Premier League, though they could be up to eight points behind Manchester City by the end of the day.
Arsenal had 63.9% possession and mustered more shots (10) and a higher expected goals total (1.11) than Newcastle, but could not find a leveller following Alexander Isak's early header.
And Arteta was disappointed with how his side did the basics following what he thought was a good start.
"We deserved to lose today. I thought we started really well and were really dominant. We didn't defend the box well enough," he told Premier League Productions.
"Credit to them. They scored a great goal with a good ball.
"Then the game changes and you start to play a different game. You have to adapt and we didn't do that well enough. I am very frustrated.
"We got dragged into a game they are looking for constantly and we couldn't play the game that we wanted."
Arsenal only managed one shot on target in the match, coming from a Mikel Merino effort that was cleared off the line in the first half. Declan Rice, meanwhile, put a close-range header wide in second-half stoppage time.
"We had two big chances: Mikel had a big one, Declan had a big one. We lacked answers," said Arteta.
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe, meanwhile, was delighted with the Magpies' performance as they sealed back-to-back victories following their win over Chelsea in the EFL Cup on Wednesday.
"You have to be really strong mentality and know results will turn if you continue to do the right things," Howe told BBC Sport.
"It has been a difficult week with the fixtures, but the players have done really well.
"There was a better feeling in training after the Chelsea win, as if pressure lifted slightly.
"Today's performance was built on hard work, desire and a lot of really good defending in the second half. I thought we looked good."
Isak headed home from a pinpoint Anthony Gordon cross to tally up his third goal in three successive appearances in all competitions.
"I wouldn't say it is a trademark goal for Alex but really pleased to see it. Anthony can give you that on his natural right-hand side and it was a great ball," said Howe.
"It was always going to take a moment like that as it was a game of few chances."
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