"FA have to go for the best guy" - Roy Keane urges England to hire Premier League boss as new manager
Manchester United legend Roy Keane has urged the FA to appoint Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola as the next permament manager of England. The Spaniard is out of contract at the Etihad next summer.
Under Guardiola, the Cityzens have achieved unprecedented success, winning six of the last seven Premier League titles and their maiden UEFA Champions League title as part of a continental treble.
Meanwhile, England have interim boss Lee Carsley at their helm right now after Gareth Southgate resigned following the 2-1 defeat to Spain in the Euro 2024 final. With Carsley seemingly not looking at the job in the long term, Keane told ITV (via Daily Mail) after the Three Lions' 3-1 UEFA Nations League win at Finland on Sunday (October 13):
"Go after Pep (Guardiola) go for the best. Pep's contract is up the summer. The FA have to go for the best guy, I don't know if finances will play a part in it.
"If Lee obviously rules himself, and he's not interested, and that seems to be the noises coming out, then the FA better get busy and get the right man."
Carsley won his opening two games in charge of England before losing 2-1 at home to Greece. However, the Three Lions returned to winning ways in Finland, with Jack Grealish, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Declan Rice getting on the scoresheet.
How England fared at their last international tournament
England made an unconvincing start to their last international tournament - Euro 2024 - beating Serbia 1-0. A 1-1 draw with Denmark followed before they drew goalless with Slovenia.
Their struggles continued in the knockouts, as they needed a late Jude Bellingham stunner to force extra time before eventually beating Slovakia 2-1, with captain Harry Kane scoring the winner in the first minute of extra time.
In their next outing against Switzerland, the Three Lions conceded first again, but Bukayo Saka equalised within five minutes before Southgate's side won 5-3 on penalties to reach the last-four.
The trend of conceding first in the knockouts would continue in the next two matches. Against the Netherlands in the semi-final, Xavi Simons opened the scoring for the Oranje inside seven minutes before Harry Kane's penalty 11 minutes later levelled proceedings.
Substitutes Cole Palmer and Ollie Watkins combined late on, with the latter scoring a 90th-minute winner. The Three Lions then lost 2-1 to Spain in the final, becoming the first team to lose successive European Championship title matches.