Roy Keane names his favourite to become England’s next manager

Roy Keane has urged the Football Association to appoint Pep Guardiola as England’s next permanent manager.

The FA are still yet to make a decision over Gareth Southgate’s permanent successor after Lee Carsley was given the interim position for England’s six Nations League matches across September, October and November.

Carsley, who guided England Under-21s to victory at the European Championship last year, has been unwilling to declare his desire to take on the role on a permanent basis, while former Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel, Newcastle boss Eddie Howe and Graham Potter have all been linked with the position.

But Keane feels Guardiola, who has won six Premier League titles with Manchester City, is England’s best option.

‘Pep… go after Pep,’ Keane told ITV.

‘Go for the best, Pep’s contract is up in the summer.’

Asked about England’s small shortlist of candidates such as Carsley, Tuchel, Howe and Potter, Keane replied: ‘It is but the most important thing is getting the right man.

‘The names you’ve mentioned there, I’m sure they’ve all got a chance.

‘But the FA have to go for the best guy whatever. I don’t know if finances will play a part in it, if Lee [Carsley] rules himself out of it, that seems to be the noises coming out.

‘The FA have got to get busy and get the right man.’

Speaking after England’s 3-1 win over Finland in the Nations League on Sunday, Carsley remained elusive over his desire to take the job on a permanent basis.

‘I think people are always going to try to put their chips on one side. I’m totally in the middle,’ Carsley said.

‘My bosses have made it totally clear what they need from me.

‘This job deserves a world-class coach who has won trophies and been there and done it. I’m still on the path to doing that.’

Asked if he felt the England job was ‘too soon’ for him in his post-match press conference, Carsley replied: ‘Definitely not. I think I tried to make it as clear as I could.

‘The point I was trying to make is that it’s one of the top jobs in the world, I’m not part of the process but it deserves a top coach, the players that we’ve got available, we’ve got a real chance of winning so that was the point I was making.’

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