Newcastle United's Eddie Howe 'has no interest in becoming England manager'

The 45-year-old has spent just under two years in charge of the Magpies and has been the leading figure behind the club's meteoric rise since the Saudi-backed takeover of the North East outfit.

Newcastle have swapped relegation battles for Champions League nights under the tutelage of Howe, who successfully steered the Magpies to a fourth-place finish in the Premier League last season.

After nearly six years in charge of Bournemouth during his second spell at the club, managing over 350 games, Howe has since won 44 of his 85 matches with Newcastle in all competitions and sees his side challenging for a top-four finish once again, while they currently sit at the summit of their Champions League group after two games.

Howe is under contract at St James' Park until the summer of 2026, but there has been speculation over a possible departure before then amid interest at international level from the Football Association.

The FA are believed to be drawing up a list of potential candidates to replace current England boss Southgate who is under contract until 2025 and has raised doubts about his long-term future in the role.

According to The Telegraph, the FA would like to consider Howe for the national manager's job when Southgate departs after adding him to their shortlist of potential replacements.

However, the report adds that Howe would 'politely reject' any attempts from the FA to lure him away from Newcastle as he has no interest in stepping into international management at this stage of his career.

The England job is said to hold some appeal to Howe, but the Magpies boss believes it is too soon for him to step away from club management and the project he is currently building at Newcastle.

Howe is not the only name on the FA's shortlist of possible Southgate replacements, as a recent report claims that Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper is in the frame for the Three Lions hotseat.

Cooper, who successfully led England Under-17s to World Cup glory in 2017, has won 42 of his 99 games in charge of Forest since taking over in September 2021, and the Welshman helped the Reds avoid relegation from the Premier League last season.

Former Brighton & Hove Albion and Chelsea boss Graham Potter has also been linked with the England job, but it is thought that the 47-year-old would prefer to return to management a club level this season before considering international job offers.

Meanwhile, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is another name who has been tipped to potentially succeed Southgate at England, with the Catalan's contract at the Etihad Stadium expiring at the same time as Southgate's in 2025.

The potential appointment of either Cooper or Guardiola would see them become just the third-ever foreign coach to manage England after Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello, the latter of whom left his post in 2012.