England U21 manager Lee Carsley emerges as primary candidate for Ireland job

England under-21 manager Lee Carsley has emerged as a primary target for the Republic of Ireland national team, according to Mirror.

The Birmingham-born Ireland international is at the top of the Irish Football Association (FA) wishlist, with current manager Stephen Kenny facing the axe.

Kenny has been in charge of the Irish national team since 2020 and has one year left to run on his existing contract, but the FA are giving serious consideration to cutting him loose this summer.

Ireland are at risk of missing out on a place in the 2024 European Championship tournament, having picked up just one win from their five qualifier fixtures.

The Boys in Green are languishing in fourth place in Group B, with six points separating them from Wednesday’s opponents Greece and another defeat could leave their Euro hopes dead in the water.

Kenny could soon be handed his marching orders with the Irish FA deliberating on whether to sack the Dublin-born manager before October’s international fixtures or allow him to see out what has been an awful qualifier campaign.

A new boss may not be required to step in immediately as there is the possibility of an interim manager handling the remaining three qualifiers to enable the new head coach to kick off his tenure with a clean slate.

Although Carsley is Ireland’s preferred candidate to replace Kenny, the England U21 boss is one of three options on their shortlist alongside Damien Duff and Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna.

Carsley guided the Young Lions to their first European triumph since 1984 in the recently concluded U21 tournament but is on a rolling one-year contract, leaving the English FA braced for imminent proposals.

The 49-year-old could be open to switching allegiances this summer, having previously expressed an interest in a role with the Irish senior team.

Carsley’s side kicked off their U21 Euro qualifying campaign with a resounding 3-0 victory over Luxembourg courtesy of goals from Liam Delap, Callum Doyle and Cole Palmer.