EDDIE HOWE is one of the three men on the shortlist to become the new permanent England manager – and admits he could be open to move next summer.
The FA’s director of elite development Dan Ashworth is a big admirer of the 38-year-old Bournemouth boss and has the young coach as one of the top men he would like to fill the position.
Gareth Southgate, who is also in the running to land the gig on a full-time basis, will take charge of the Three Lions for their next four matches following Sam Allardyce’s shamed departure this week.
FA chiefs also want to talk with Arsenal chief Arsene Wenger to try and entice the Frenchman to bring to an end his two decade stint with the Gunners and take over as manager of his adopted football nation.
Howe’s style of play is pleasing on the eye, and he would fit perfectly into the England DNA plan Ashworth and his fellow Three Lions chiefs are trying to integrate throughout all age-groups at international level.
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And the Bournemouth ace is no stranger to Ashworth, who invited him to Wembley as his guest for England’s friendly with Portugal in June.
The governing body are also reportedly keen to speak with Ralf Rangnick.
The German is director of sport at Bundesliga side RB Leipzig and was also considered for the role prior to Big Sam’s appointment.
Rangnick has taken charge of a number of German teams in the past, including Stuttgart, Hannover and Schalke.
He led the latter to the semi-finals of the 2011 Champions League after crushing Inter Milan 7-3 on aggregate, but stepped down months later due to ‘exhaustion syndrome’.
Ashworth and FA chief exec Martin Glenn are supposedly favouring another British appointment, or at least someone familiar within the English game, as they fear they will be seen as being too Anglicised.
Despite Howe’s relative inexperience, Ashworth will press on with attempts to snatch the up-and-coming coach ahead of going for some of the older candidates also mentioned such as Alan Pardew, Steve Bruce and Brendan Rodgers.
Howe admitted on Thursday that he was flattered by the England talk – but claimed his immediate attention was on Bournemouth.
Howe said: “The England job is the ultimate job but I’ve signed players very recently here and pledged my future to them this season and how it is going to unfold.
“I couldn’t turn my back on this club, the people who employ and the loyalty they have shown me, I need to show that in return.
“My aims are to lead this club forward and progress in the Premier League and improve on last season – that is my only thought.
“It sounds quite arrogant, but I am not interested in the job right now but who knows what happens in the future.”
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