Aidy Boothroyd to leave post as England Under-21s manager after seven years in youth set-up

Aidy Boothroyd is to leave his post as England Under-21s manager, the Football Association has announced.

The 50-year-old leaves after the Young Lions were eliminated from Euro 2021 at the group stage last month.

He was appointed as under-21s boss after Gareth Southgate was appointed men's senior team boss in 2016. The FA first hired him in 2014 and he managed the under-19s and under-20 sides before getting the under-21s job.

Boothroyd guided England to three successive Under-21 Euro tournaments, including a semi-final spot in 2017. England won the Toulon Tournament in 2018.

He said: "It's been the greatest privilege to represent the FA and lead England teams into high-profile tournaments.

"While we didn't finish in the way we wanted, I'm very proud to have been able to work so closely with players who I know will go on to have remarkable international careers and to have experienced some very special moments with them over the years.

"I'd like to thank my staff and all of the incredible support team that have done so much to help us remain competitive against other elite nations.

"In every single get-together they 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."

Meanwhile, manager of England's senior men's team Gareth Southgate said: "I'd like to thank Aidy for his wholehearted support and dedication to developing English players and coaches across the last seven years.

"His pride in working with all of our development teams has shone through and his support of the senior team has been greatly appreciated. I wish him every success on the next step of his career."