Southgate hints he's ready to manage a top PL club after leaving the England job

Gareth Southgate has indicated he will look for a job around the top of the Premier League once his time as England manager is over.

Southgate, 53, has been England boss since 2016 but looks likely to depart after the coming summer's European Championship in Germany.

And the man who took England to their first major tournament final since 1966 has already been considering club football's possibilities - including talking about it with Roma's former Manchester United and Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho.

Southgate has taken England to the World Cup semi-finals and Euro final but his popularity as manager has been mixed with some criticism of his team's performances against the world's best international sides.

And despite his exploits with the national side, Southgate's sole experience of Premier League management comes with Middlesbrough, who he was relegated with in 2009.

'Everybody would talk about Middlesbrough. "Oh, he got Middlesbrough relegated". Well, yeah, in the third year, we got relegated. But I had three years of Premier League management,' Southgate told Sky Sports.

'There isn't a job in world football that would intimidate or daunt you, having lived this one (England), frankly. You're not going to have any higher profile, you're not going to have any greater pressure, you're not going to have any more complex issues.'

Southgate's man-management has been a key element of his Three Lions reign, uniting a team who were often divided in the past, repairing the squad's relationship with the media and getting results on the pitch.

And speaking ahead of the New Year which is likely to see him end his eight-year spell with England after the Euros, he revealed how a chat with Mourinho had furthered his thinking that he could manage a top club.

Erik ten Hag and Mauricio Pochettino are under pressure at Man United and Chelsea and there could be other top Premier League clubs looking for new managers in 2024.

Southgate said: 'I remember talking to Jose (Mourinho) when he was at Man United and he said: "you know, when you've done the role you're in now, you'll be able to do anything". Really? I thought that was probably right, but seven years into it, it's definitely right.'