Glenn Hoddle should be Gareth Southgate's shock replacement as England boss should he leave his post after Euro 2024, according to Wayne Bridge.
With Southgate's contract ending in December later this year, negotiations over a new deal has been postponed until after the tournament. Many believe the 53-year-old will call time on his tenure with the Three Lions following the end of the competition.
While the former England international has yet to deliver silverware in his eight-year reign, he did become the first man since Sir Alf Ramsay to lead the country to a major final in 2020 when England lost on penalties in the Euro 2020 final to Italy.
Bridge, who represented England at three major tournaments, admitted that Southgate – a candidate for Manchester United before they opted to stick with Erik ten Hag – could be in the running for a top job should he leave England. The former Southampton and Chelsea man believes this will be the case regardless of how far the Three Lions go in Germany, and he then named ex-England manager Hoddle as his surprise choice to replace Southgate.
Speaking exclusively to Mirror Sport on behalf of Betfred, he said: "I don’t think he’s ruled himself out of another job because he’s done quite well for England in the past. You always see managers getting sacked and then finding another job, so I don’t believe he’s ruled himself out.
"I’ve always said I’d go with an English manager and in that sense, you’ve got Eddie Howe who I think would do well. An old favourite of mine, but I don’t believe you can get him out of retirement, is Glenn Hoddle. He’s one of my favourite managers and with the tactical and mental side of the game, I think he’d do a brilliant job."
The Tottenham Hotspur legend had a three-year stint as England boss from 1996 to 1999 before being dismissed following a newspaper interview in which he was widely interpreted as claiming that people with disabilities among others are affected by karma from past lives. According to Bridge, though, it's his tactical brilliance that makes him want to witness the 66-year-old take charge of the abundance of talent that exists within the squad.
"I’d love to see it because I had him at Southampton and we were a relegation team and he got us playing great football. We had formations that suited the players, we were up to sixth in the league and I thought tactically, he was just brilliant. I know players that have played under him before and they said how brilliant he was as well."
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