Sky Sports give huge update on England manager pursuit which involved Newcastle boss Eddie Howe

Sky Sports have today given an update on the current state of play regarding the permanent replacement of Gareth Southgate as England boss.

The former Middlesbrough gaffer stepped down as England manager following another European Championships final defeat after a campaign which saw Southgate come under a lot of fire for his negative brand of football which seemed to get the Three Lions to the final by luck more than anything else.

Southgate's refusal to give Anthony Gordon a proper shot despite the side screaming out for creativity also did not go down well with pundits and fans.

Anything other than winning the tournament would have seen Southgate out of a job and while the FA were happy for him to stay on, Southgate took the decision to step aside.

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Lee Carsley has followed in Gareth Southgate's footsteps

That immediately had Newcastle United fans on high alert as Eddie Howe has long been eyed up as a future England boss, so the Magpies were bracing themselves for an approach.

Meanwhile, Under 21s coach Lee Carsley was promoted to interim manager of the senior side, following in the footsteps of Southgate himself.

So far Carsley's brand of football seems more exciting than Southgate's but he's only had two games to show us anything and they weren't exactly against top sides. However, early signs are promising and so is the update from Sky Sports today.

Eddie Howe has not been approached by The FA

Eddie Howe is one of four managers who have been heavily linked with the England role alongside Jurgen Klopp, Graham Potter and Thomas Tuchel. While Eddie Howe is the only one of the four currently in employment, Sky Sports has claimed that none of the quartet have been approached about the role.

While there's still plenty of time for this to change, it does suggest that Lee Carsley's chances of being offered the role on an official basis are greatly increasing.

As long as it's not Eddie Howe, we're not really bothered who takes the job. Watching England has been soul destroying and interest is at an all-time low for us. A new manager with fresh ideas has the chance to turn that around, but again, just not Eddie Howe ... yet.