4 reasons why Gareth Southgate's new contract is great news for England

#3 He’s worked with the younger players before

Southgate has worked with young players like Ruben Loftus-Cheek for years

One of the biggest plus points of Southgate’s England tenure thus far has been his commitment to bringing younger players through into the senior squad. The likes of Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Joe Gomez, Jordan Pickford and Trent Alexander-Arnold have all broken into the squad under Southgate and the latest squad contains no fewer than 4 young, uncapped stars – Mason Mount, Jadon Sancho, James Maddison and Nathaniel Chalobah.

So how did Southgate end up developing such a faith in young talent, where his predecessors have often seemed wary of unleashing it on the senior squad too soon? Well, it’s quite simple – from 2011 to 2012 he worked as the FA’s head of elite development, and from 2013 to 2016 he managed England’s under-21 squad.

No previous England manager has had that kind of experience in working with the younger Three Lions, and while he had mixed results while in charge, his time allowed him to work with current stars like Harry Kane and John Stones, as well as some of the youngsters he’s since introduced to the senior side like Loftus-Cheek, Pickford and Chalobah.

The fact that England will be led by Southgate as such a great crop of young talent breaks through into the senior set-up – the winners of the 2017 u17 World Cup will probably be key players by 2022 – is a huge positive, as it’s something that’s never happened with the Three Lions before. This will be the first time that a manager has moved through the ranks alongside the players – something that could help England to succeed in the future.