Liverpool midfielder Harvey Elliott has endorsed ‘unbelievable manager’ Lee Carsley to step up and become the new England boss after Gareth Southgate resigned from the Three Lions earlier this month.
Carsley, the Birmingham-born former midfielder who was capped 40 times for Ireland, led England’s Under 21s to European Championship glory last summer playing an progressive brand of front-foot football.
Elliott has been a regular for Carsley’s side during and since that triumph – and he has now given the highly-rated coach his backing to step up and lead England into the next World Cup cycle.
Asked if he thought Carsley was ready for the big job, Elliott said: ‘Absolutely. Lee is an unbelievable manager and an unbelievable guy. He is ready to step up. There have been a lot of big clubs sniffing around him and that is credit to himself and his coaching.
‘Whenever I step on the pitch for England I just have freedom to enjoy my football. I feel like he is ready. They are conversations for them (at the FA).’
Harvey Elliott has backed his England U21s coach Lee Carsley to step-up to the top England job
Elliott believes Carsley is an 'unbelievable' coach and person and has enjoyed the freedom he has been given while playing for England under the more attack-minded ex-Irish international
Gareth Southgate was promoted from England U21s to coach the senior men's team before resigning after Euro 2024 - Harvey Elliott has backed Lee Carsley to follow in Southgate's path
Carsley is certainly in the frame for the vacant job alongside the likes of Eddie Howe and Graham Potter and it is possible he gets given the role on a caretaker basis while a more thorough recruitment process is undertaken by the FA.
Elliott, of course, would love Carsley as it would help his own chances of winning a first senior cap.
'Of course I want to be there,’ he added.
‘But they have their certain ways and their players that they monitor and that they want to pick and that’s just what they do.
‘At the same time I was disappointed, I had a nice break. The summer before I had the Euros with the 21s so I didn’t get a long break.
'So it was nice for me to unwind, see family and get my head down for this pre-season. With the new (manager) I wanted to be fresh and ready to go.’
Meanwhile, fellow Englishman Curtis Jones, who scored the winning goal in that Under 21s final last summer, missed Liverpool training on Sunday after suffering a muscular injury last week.
Curtis Jones scored the winner for England in the Euro U21s final last summer but picked up a muscular injury on Liverpool's US tour in training on Sunday after praising new coach Arne Slot
Ryan Gravenberch will be in the USA in the next 24 hours as he joins the Reds' pre-season tour
Frenchman Ibrahimi Konate will also be travelling to the US to join up with new head coach Slot
Diogo Jota joined up late with the Reds' US tour after Euro 2024 but he is now fully involved
The Reds play Arsenal in Philadelphia on Wednesday night.
They then face tests against Manchester United and Sevilla before their opening game of the season away at newly promoted Ipswich Town.
Dutch midfielder Ryan Gravenberch is set to arrive in the States in the next 24 hours, with France defender Ibrahima Konate also planning to join up with the squad by Tuesday.
Portugal's Diogo Jota was a late arrival and has commenced training sessions with new head coach Arne Slot. Jota played just 97 minutes at Euro 2024 as Portugal were knocked-out by France on penalties in the quarter-final.