FA line up Tottenham academy guru as man to replace Reed as technical director

The FA have lined up Tottenham's academy guru John McDermott as technical director to replace Les Reed, who will step down next summer.

McDermott was appointed to a new position as the FA's assistant technical director last month but Sportsmail has learned it is only a temporary role with a deal agreed for him to replace Reed after next year's rescheduled European Championship.

The FA's willingness to create another senior role in their technical staff at St George's Park at a time when they were planning significant cuts elsewhere due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic raised eyebrows last month, but makes more sense in the context of Sportsmail's revelation that Reed has effectively recruited his successor.

The 67-year-old only signed a two-year contract at the FA when joining from Southampton to replace the long-serving Dan Ashworth last February. And having put in place a reorganisation at St George's Park, Reed is happy to move on.

McDermott's appointment is a coup for the FA as he has been in demand for several years due to his outstanding work in developing young players and coaches at Tottenham.

The club's academy director rejected an offer to revamp Manchester United's youth development programme two years ago following the personal intervention of then boss Mauricio Pochettino who begged him to stay.

After beginning his coaching career at Watford, McDermott then joined the FA before spending 15 years at Tottenham, where he helped develop numerous England internationals such as Harry Kane, Danny Rose and Andros Townsend.

McDermott is due to start work at the FA in June and will join an organisation grappling with financial problems caused by coronavirus, which could cost more than £150million in lost revenue.

Having announced pay cuts of up to 30 per cent for senior staff including England manager Gareth Southgate last month, the FA are already planning further cuts. Due to a lack of international football in the coming months, job losses at St George's Park and Wembley are inevitable.

The FA are also facing a dilemma over whether to extend the contracts of Under 21 coach Aidy Boothroyd and women's coach Phil Neville, whose existing deals expire before their next major tournaments, which have been put back by 12 months to 2022.