Mark Warburton has emerged as a surprise contender for the England Under-21 manager’s job. The Rangers manager is admired at the FA for his track record of developing young players and commitment to attractive football, and influential figures at Wembley want him to apply to succeed Gareth Southgate, who was promoted to the senior job on a permanent basis last month.
Warburton is unlikely to apply for the under-21 job before the official deadline on Friday as he has his hands full with Rangers and it would take some persuading for him to leave Ibrox. The FA advertised the position last week and will interview candidates at St George’s Park on January 13, but have not ruled out approaching other individuals in order to secure the best man for the job. Under-20 manager Aidy Boothroyd is likely to apply, as is former Valencia coach Phil Neville. Paul Clement also has his admirers and worked with the under-21 side as an additional coach earlier this year, but it is unclear whether he would be willing to leave his assistant manager job at Bayern Munich.
Warburton came to prominence at Brentford, whom he led to promotion from League One and into the Championship play-offs. He took Rangers back into the Scottish Premiership and into the Scottish Cup final in his first season north of the border. His credentials for the under-21 job are strengthened by his role in setting up the NextGen Series, an under-19 tournament at which several top players, including Raheem Sterling, first emerged.