Jamie Carragher is bang on - Newcastle United must avoid making catastrophic Eddie Howe mistake

He may not be everyone’s first choice to become permanent successor to Gareth Southgate, but Lee Carsley has passed his first test as interim England manager.

In what almost felt like a cruel twist of fate, as the former Republic of Ireland international took his side to face the country he represented 40 times during his playing career and, a quite frankly bizarre dispute over singing the national anthem aside, came through it reasonably unscathed.

England were not sparkling, they did not steamroller their hosts, but they did show moments of confidence and positivity as almost inevitable goals from Jack Grealish and Declan Rice, two players that represented Ireland at youth and senior level respectively, ensured the Three Lions kicked off their Nations League campaign with a win in Dublin. Now it’s on to Wembley as Finland provide the opposition for what will be Harry Kane’s 100th appearance for England and could provide a defining moment for his temporary manager.

Carsley is highly thought of within the Football Association and there is a feeling that securing the permanent England manager role is well within his grasp. This does not feel like a pair of safe hands taking charge until a permanent successor is found - but if the FA are looking elsewhere, Tuesday’s clash with Finland could well be his final chance to shine. That said, it would be no surprise if the former Everton midfielder was to see out 2024 in temporary charge with England set for return meetings with Ireland and Israel and a double header with Greece before the turn of the year.

If the FA were to turn their focus towards a new manager, it would be no shock if they were to approach Newcastle United over the availability of Eddie Howe. The Magpies boss was the man who oversaw Bournemouth’s remarkable journey from the brink of dropping into non-league football to facing the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool during a five-year stay in the Premier League. Their relegation back into the Championship in 2020 should not detract from the remarkable transformation in fortunes during their time under Howe.

That transformation in fortunes was somewhat replicated by Howe during his time in Newcastle as he inherited a Magpies squad sat in the Premier League relegation zone and without a win to their name, and led them to the Champions League and meetings with AC Milan, Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain in the space of 18 months. Of course, some will point to the significant investment provided by the Magpies Saudi-led owners as the key driving factor in United’s push up the Premier League - but the improvement Howe and his coaching staff coaxed out of the likes of Jacob Murphy, Fabian Schar, Miguel Almiron and Joelinton can not be underplayed.

Newcastle have made a positive start to the new season and remain unbeaten in their first three Premier League games, as well as progressing into the third round of the Carabao Cup with a penalty shoot-out win at Nottingham Forest. Yet the events of the closing weeks of the summer transfer window have cast something of a shadow over St. James’ Park - and left some to question how the relationship between Howe and recently appointed sporting director Paul Mitchell currently lies.

There have been some suggestions of disagreements over transfer targets and direction during the final days of the window as Newcastle made a number of unsuccessful bids for Crystal Palace and England defender Marc Guehi, before being rebuffed in attempts to land a late deal for Nottingham Forest winger Anthony Elanga. Frustration was the overwhelming emotion when the deadline passed - and Jamie Carragher believes the Magpies will have to be ‘very careful’ they don’t lose their current manager.

Speaking to Sky Sports, the Liverpool legend said of the Magpies squad: “I wasn’t worried about Newcastle. Lets talk about them getting all the money and getting trophies, I’m not sure you can right now. You can argue with the rules and how they’re set up, but I think a bigger problem for them, if they get beat today and they go into the international break, there’ll be a lot of negativity. There’s a lot of pressure from supporters on Darren Eales the CEO, on Paul Mitchell the sporting director as well. They’ve got to be very careful they don’t lose Eddie Howe. Eddie Howe is the number one person, I think in most people’s eyes, for the England job. If he’s not happy, he’s going to go to the England job. He will.”

Carragher is correct. Howe could, should and probably is the first choice to become new England manager if Carsley is not given the opportunity to take the role on a permanent basis. He has proven he has an ability to mould together a side and is able to bring improvements out of under-performing players. He has captured the affection of supporters at both Bournemouth and Newcastle and, by and large, has retained their faith, even in the most difficult of times.

It could be that Howe feels the time is right for a change and he has spoken of his desire to take the main role in English football at some point in his career. But the warning signs were there in Mitchell’s recent press pack roundtable when he suggested any FA interest in Howe is recognition of the job he has done at club level - which is, of course, true - but it was hardly a sign Newcastle would not fight any attempt from the FA to secure a deal for Howe.

There was talk of the former Bournemouth manager becoming the Magpies version of Sir Alex Ferguson and overseeing a lengthy and hopefully successful reign at St. James’ Park. Of course, it would be some surprise if Howe was to oversee the success the Scot saw at Old Trafford - but there is no doubt Newcastle are a far stronger proposition with their current manager in the dugout.