Lee Carsley appointed England Under-21 manager with Ashley Cole as assistant

Former Derby, Everton and Birmingham midfielder Lee Carsley has been appointed as the new England Under-21 manager, having previously been in charge of the Under-20 squad.

Carsley, who was born in Birmingham but represented Ireland at international level during his own playing career, will be assisted by England legend Ashley Cole, who will perform the role alongside existing coaching duties within Chelsea’s academy ranks.

“I see it as a massive honour and achievement to coach the Under-21s. It is a really prestigious position with a lot of responsibility as has been proven by the calibre of predecessors in this role,” 47-year-old Carsley explained.

“Gareth [Southgate] and Steve Holland have always been very supportive and I am looking forward to working more closely with them. We have a great opportunity to help the senior side by developing the best young talent in this country while combining that with being successful at Under-21 level.

“We want to win matches. I don’t think you can have one without the other, these lads want to compete at the highest level and test themselves against the best. We have to acknowledge the work being done by the academies and I know how important it will be to have good relationships with the clubs.

“I will have a great team around me. Ashley is a brilliant addition to the staff and we will also have Tim Dittmer as goalkeeping coach, with all of his experience of the game. I have been on courses with Ashley during lockdown and been impressed. He is committed to coaching and player development so a lot of our thoughts are aligned.”

In addition to his previous within the England junior setup since 2020, Carsley has had past managerial and coaching experience at Coventry, Brentford, Manchester City and Birmingham.

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