Lee Carsley is now being considered to become the next Republic of Ireland manager.
That’s according to the Mirror, who have reported that the former Everton midfielder is top of the shortlist to replace Stephen Kenny.
Carsley, who spent six years at Everton before joining boyhood club Birmingham City in 2008, was named as the England U21 manager two years ago.
The 49-year-old previously spent time as a caretaker manager at Coventry City, before joining Brentford’s Development Squad. He was briefly named as their head coach before returning to Birmingham City where he was Steve Cotterill’s assistant manager.
Carsley joined the England U20 set-up in September 2020 before he was promoted to the U21s a year later. He enjoyed great success with the Young Lions, winning the Euros this summer to claim their first title in the competition since 1984.
Carsley has continued with the U21s in their Euro qualifiers but he has now become the FA of Ireland’s favourite for the role currently occupied by Kenny.
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Kenny won’t be offered a new contract following a disappointing Euro 2024 qualification campaign and the FA are now considering whether to sack him before October’s internationals or allow him to see out the group stage.
The likes of Damien Duff and Kieran McKenna are also being considered by the FA, but Carsley remains the current frontrunner.
Lee Carsley previously rejected the Republic of Ireland
Carsley previously made 40 appearances for the Ireland national team but previously turned down the opportunity to become their U21 manager in 2018.
“It was something I considered,” Carsley said the day he was unveiled as England Under-21 boss in 2021.
“I obviously played for Ireland so there’s a connection there. There always will be that, wanting to help. But I was very much focused on being at Man City at the time.
“I was happy doing what I was doing. It was mainly Kevin Kilbane pushing for me to do it. He’s a good friend of mine so it was mostly him.”
Carsley recently called up Jarrad Branthwaite to the England U21 squad as he earned his first two caps earlier this year.