According to The Telegraph, former Tottenham Hotspur coach Justin Cochrane is emerging as a ‘strong candidate’ to become the new England Under-21 boss.
Aidy Boothroyd’s contract expires this summer and it’s unlikely to be renewed after his side crashed out of the European Championships in the group stage.
The FA have a new technical director in John McDermott, who was a key figure at Tottenham whilst working as their head of coaching and development under Mauricio Pochettino.
It’s now suggested that McDermott could look to engineer something of a Spurs reunion, because Cochrane is emerging as a shock candidate to take the reins.
Cochrane is only 39, but is a highly-regarded coach who worked with Tottenham’s 11 to 16 age range before becoming an Under-23 coach.
With the England setup, Cochrane has coached the Under-15’s, 16’s and now 17’s, with his progression potentially set for a huge leap into what Boothroyd has called an ‘impossible job’.
Formerly of Crewe Alexandra and Rotherham United, Cochrane earned 14 caps for Antigua and Barbuda but now finds himself as a hot prospect in the coaching scene.
Cochrane worked closely with Scott Parker at Tottenham, so seeing them both in prominent jobs would be quite the compliment for Spurs – and who knows, maybe he will end up coaching the likes of Ryan Sessegnon and Oliver Skipp in the near future, as well as Dane Scarlett and Alfie Devine further down the line.
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