Aidy Boothroyd leaves England U21 job: Who are the front runners to take over and which players will they be working with?

The England Under-21 manager’s role will be freshened up with the appointment of a younger coach. Justin Cochrane, Joe Cole and Liam Rosenior will be leading contenders should they decide to apply for the job.

Aidy Boothroyd has stepped down as head coach after a disastrous European Championship in Slovenia last month, where England failed to get out of their group for successive tournaments.

There will now be an open application process to find his successor for the 2023 cycle. Candidates will have to apply to the Football Association and they will also use the Rooney Rule where one black or ethnic minority applicant will get an interview.

Who are the frontrunners?

Cochrane, Cole and Rosenior have been mentioned at St George’s Park as young coaches with promise. Cochrane, 39, is a rising star at the FA and is in charge of the Under-17s. He also knows John McDermott, the FA’s technical director, from his time working at Tottenham Hotspur.

Cole has worked at Chelsea’s Academy before taking time off to study coaching by visiting different managers around the world and also visiting the FA where he has impressed. The former England midfielder, 39, has been working as a pundit on BT Sport and it is thought he would have a good connection with young players.

Rosenior is working at Derby County as assistant manager to Wayne Rooney. He played for the Under-21s at the 2007 Euros when England reached the semi-finals where Holland knocked them out 13-12 on penalties. The 36-year-old made it clear during his playing career that he wants a career in management.

What will the role be?

Boothroyd insisted there should be clarity over what the role entails. He believes the job is about providing players for Gareth Southgate’s senior squad, rather than winning at tournaments. Jude Bellingham, Mason Mount, Declan Rice, Phil Foden and Jadon Sancho were in Southgate’s squad last season.

“In every single get-together they (the staff) embraced our unique challenge of rightly prioritising the needs of the senior team while ensuring we gave our all to try and get a positive performance and result,” said Boothroyd.

The Under-21s will be looking to build a good environment with the very best coaching to ensure young players with dual nationality will stay with England. They lost Jamal Musiala to Germany this season.

Who will the new coach be working with?

Any player born in the 21st century will be eligible for the next cycle of qualification for the 2023 Euros in Romania and Georgia.

This means many of the last squad will be available, including Max Aarons, Ryan Sessegnon, Marc Guehi. Mason Greenwood and Callum Hudson-Odoi. The foundations are there for a strong team but it looks like an end to the days of switching between Under-21s and seniors for eligible players.

Trent Alexander-Arnold was eligible for the Under-21s this summer but when he was dropped by Southgate he did not drop down to the development squad. Southgate would take players to sit on the bench for the seniors instead of getting tournament experience with the Under-21s.

What happens this summer?

England have not entered the Toulon Tournament, which was their plan in 2020 before a delay for the coronavirus pandemic. They have no fixtures scheduled so have time to go through the process of interviewing Boothroyd’s successor.