Arsene Wenger is reportedly willing to sit down with English FA to discuss the head-coach position only after his current deal with Arsenal FC expires, according to British media reports.
The English senior squad is currently without a head-coach, as Roy Hodgson stepped down after a 2-1 defeat to Iceland in a Round of 16 tie in Euro 2016. The defeat saw the English perform miserably and bow out of yet another international competition, despite possessing one of the strongest sides on paper.
The English FA is now tasked with the finding the right man for the job, but there seems to be no hurry to appoint the next manager. FA chief executive Martin Glenn has come out and said that they are prepared to wait for the ideal candidate, according to ESPN.
It is now being reported by The Times that current Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is interested in taking up the job. The interest comes with a clause that the Frenchman would join the Three Lions only at the end of next season, after his current deal with Arsenal expires. Wenger has earlier repeatedly said he will honour the last year of the contract left with Arsenal, a club where he has spent an unprecedented 20 years of his managerial career.
Meanwhile, The Telegraph are reporting that Arsenal’s hierarchy is confident Arsene Wenger will not take the England manager’s job. It is believed that Wenger had earlier rejected the approaches of English FA and that the Frenchman’s reply to any future approaches would be dealt with by their manager in the same way.
The English FA has already been refuted by England’s under-21 manager Gareth Southgate, if the reports from BBC are to be believed. The former Middlesbrough manager was earlier being seen as the perfect interim manager till the English FA finalise the main man to take England forward. However, the current England under-21 coach seems to be uninterested in that role.
The English FA have not ruled out the appointment of a foreign coach with names like Arsene Wenger, Laurent Blanc and Jurgen Klinsmann, all doing rounds in the media. It will be interesting to see who they choose as the man to take The Three Lions forward in their quest for international glory.