England legend urges FA: go for klopp

England should target Jurgen Klopp as their next manager if Gareth Southgate quits, according to a former Three Lions legend.

Viv Anderson says the ex-Liverpool manager is the “perfect man” to replace  Southgate who is reportedly considering his future.

Viv, who won 30 caps for England, is now a leading diversity and inclusion speaker and has been watching the tournament closely.

He said: “I know Jurgen has said he wants to take some time out from football, but if there is any way of persuading him he would be the perfect fit for the job. The FA should go all out to get him. He’s been in England for nine years, knows all of the players in the Premier League, and the players would respect him from day one. I suspect this will be Gareth’s last tournament in the dugout. Klopp gets my vote.”

Ahead of the tournament, Viv spoke of his pride in the team but warned there were still massive challenges to face around racism in football.

“There are still massive challenges – you look at the last time we played in the big tournament, and the three of the black lads took the penalties and missed, the social media impact was immense.

“Which you think ‘Oh, my God, I thought we’ve moved on from that.’ So clearly, there’s a lot to do. We cheer them every weekend, in their own particular clubs, and up and down the country there are more Black faces than there ever was.

“When I started there was only Brendan Batson, Clyde Best and that was it.

“Now you go to football clubs up and down the country and you see Black faces all over. So the impact has been immense.”

England suffered late heartbreak in Berlin after Spain scored in the final minutes to beat the Three Lions 2-1 and win Euro 2024.

It is the second Euros final England have lost in a row after they were beaten by Italy in the final of Euro 2020, played at Wembley Stadium in July 2021 – delayed by the pandemic.

Harry Kane, the captain, said it was a “huge disappointment” and “as painful as it can be”.

“We’re all just hurting,” Kane said, adding that it had been a “tough tournament” during which the England squad “had to show a lot of resilience”.

But he said they did “really well” to get back into the match when Cole Palmer scored a long-range equaliser and had a “big moment at the end when they [Spain] cleared off the line”.

Regarding the future of Gareth Southgate, Kane said: “We love the manager, but it’s his decision.”