Next England U21 Manager Odds After Aidy Boothroyd

Current England U17 head coach, Justin Cochrane, is the favourite to replace Aidy Boothroyd this summer as his contract expires amidst another poor European Championship at the helm of the U21s. Although Cochrane has been in with his current side for a year, he has had previous experience at other high profile youth coaching roles as he was assistant head of development and coach of the U23 team at Tottenham Hotspur before moving to the FA.

Cochrane has also been key in the development of the younger England age groups as he was also a part of the coaching staff his time as U15s and U16s. As well as the CV to match the role, Cochrane has received praise from current England manager Gareth Southgate, who has described Cochrane as a "top coach".

It is seen that even if Cochrane does not get the head coach role of the U21s he could play a key role in that age group going forward in some capacity. However, given England's structure of promoting managers through the ranks is the go-to, Cochrane has moved to the 4/9 favourite to take the role.

Former Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe has been out of a job for nearly a year after leaving the Cherries at the end of the 2019/20 season and is another candidate to replace Boothroyd. The 43-year-old ended his eight-year spell on the south coast after relegation into the Championship, and he has been one of the most sought-after managers ever since.

A venture into international management would be a new opportunity for Howe who has only managed two clubs in his career: Bournemouth and Burnley. Howe has also been noted for the rise of many players at Bournemouth, with the likes of Nathan Ake, Ryan Fraser and Callum Wilson all excelling under his leadership at an early age, who have now moved onto a bigger club.

Despite being the third favourite for the role as England U21 manager, Howe is linked to the Celtic job as well. Due to the size of the club and job at hand in Scotland, Howe may look to try a new challenge north of the border than in England.

Howe is priced at 8/1 to become the England U21 manager.

Former Chelsea boss Frank Lampard is the second favourite for the England U21 job as he looks to rebuild his reputation after a poor spell with the Blues. The ex-England international has the reputation when it comes to the development of youth players due to his time at Derby County and Chelsea, where he helped build a plethora of promising talent.

At Derby, Lampard was able to lead a team headed by Mason Mount, Fikayo Tomori and Harry Wilson to the Championship play-off final, only to become unstuck by Aston Villa. While at Chelsea, the English coach was able to finish in the top four and reach the Champions League knockout rounds only to lose to eventual winners Bayern Munich.

Most notably when considering Lampard for the England U21 job, he helped guide players such as Mount, Reece James, Tammy Abraham and Tomori to all become key parts of the team, whilst Billy Gilmour was also handed his debut and made several appearances.

However, after a promising first season in charge, the Blues legend struggled to integrate marquee signings such as Kai Havertz and Timo Werner, which, combined with his league struggles, resulted in his departure.

Lampard is currently out of a job but may see the England U21 role as a downgrade on the type of job he is looking for and he is currently priced at 4/1 to replace Aidy Boothroyd.

The ex-England women’s team manager has recently been appointed manager of David Beckham’s Inter Miami in the MLS and this puts him as an outsider for the England U21 role.

During his time as manager of the Lionesses, he was able to lead them to She Believes Cup victory in 2019, as well as a fourth-place finish at the 2019 World Cup where they lost to the eventual, the USA.

Neville began to gain more criticism for his team selection and management style after the World Cup, but he was set to stay in charge for Euro 2021, and the 2020 Olympics. However, due to the postponement of these tournaments and increased criticism, Neville stepped down to take the job in Miami.

Because Neville has recently become manager of Inter Miami, it is very unlikely that he will take over from Boothroyd, hence the 12/1 odds.

Currently an assistant to Dean Smith at Aston Villa, Terry has been in the role for nearly three years. The former Chelsea defender has been a key part of the Villa backroom staff since he joined, helping the club to earn promotion out of the Championship and stay in the Premier League.

Terry has been looked at for some time now as a future manager is some regard, as he is constantly proving his worth at Villa, whilst the Englishman is no doubt playing his cards right in staying in an assistant role for the time being.

Having been with the Midlands outfit for almost four seasons and having proven his worth in the coaching of youngsters like Jack Grealish and Ezri Konsa, now might be the time for Terry to move into a role as head coach. As of now, he is priced at 8/1 to be England's U21 manager.

Similar to that of Justin Cochrane, Ian Foster is already involved within the England youth setup. Foster was part of the staff that coached the England U17 team to the 2017 World Cup final win, and has progressed through the ranks ever since, being involved with the U18s, U19s as well as holding a role within the women’s team.

Foster is used to the development of youngsters, so he could be another good option with several players that he has coached before currently with the U21 team, such as Callum Hudson-Odoi and Mason Greenwood. While some of the other alumni he has coached already sit as key members in the senior squad, with players like Jadon Sancho and Phil Foden.

Foster clearly has the track record of development when it comes to youth players, which is crucial in the U21 team. However, he is likely to not be appointed new manager due to the ability of other managers in the running, but Foster could have a key role in the U21 team in the future, given his proven coaching capabilities.

By John Meenan