Coady relishing Young Lions opportunity

England men’s under-21s will have a fresh face on the coaching team when they meet up for their first international window of the 2026-27 season this month, with Conor Coady joining Lee Carsley’s backroom team.

Having represented England through the age groups and at senior level, as well as a domestic career with the likes of Liverpool, Sheffield United, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Everton and Leicester City, Coady will now link up with Carsley and assistant Paul Williams as part of the Young Lions coaching team.

And the 33 year old says the opportunity to work with some of the country’s brightest young talents was one he simply could not turn down.

‘A massive honour’

Coady couldn’t hide his pride and excitement after his appointment onto Carsley’s coaching team, describing the role as a “massive honour” as he looks to help support the development of the next generation of Young Lions while continuing his own growth on the coaching pathway.

“First and foremost, I think it's a massive honour,” said Coady.

“I think having the opportunity to work with the players who are going to be there, working with Lee Carsley and Paul Williams, is a huge honour and something I could never, ever turn down.

“When Lee approached me and gave me the opportunity to come and work with him; he's somebody I've known for so long, since I was at Sheffield United on loan many, many years ago now. He was a coach there, but not just a top coach, he was an even better person.

“So to sit down with him in the summer, have a conversation and to finally get to the point where I'm coming to work with him is a huge honour for myself, something I can't wait for and something I'm going to throw myself right into.”

The relationship between Coady and Carsley stretches back many years, with the former Wolves captain revealing their conversations about football and coaching have continued throughout his playing career.

“I've known Lee for a long time and he's always been somebody I've tried to keep in contact with as much as I possibly can,” he revealed.

“Firstly, because of how much of a top guy he is and how much of a good friend he is, but also how much of an unbelievable football coach he is.

“This is the path I want to take. It's something that really intrigues me and something I need and want to get better at.”

The perfect pathway

Coady also believes the role arrives at the perfect stage of his development as a coach, having already gained experience with England men’s under-19s earlier this year.

“I think the biggest thing for me is working with the players that I'm going to be working with,” he said. “I think they're unbelievably talented. We all know about the England pathway and the players who come through the England system.

“I was lucky enough to go with the MU19s in March as well with Will Antwi, who was fantastic for me. He gave me the opportunity to come, to learn, to be involved in training, to take sessions.

“To step up to Lee's team now and be around the group of players I'm going to be around is a massive experience for me. It's something I just want to learn from every single day.

“I'm somebody who will give everything. I'll give the players everything, I'll give Lee and Paul everything and if I can help in any way, that's the biggest thing that I want to bring.”

A source of knowledge

As well as supporting the players on camp, Coady is eager to absorb knowledge from Carsley and Williams while contributing wherever he can to help the team continue its success.

“It's all about that, for me,” he said.

“It's all about trying to help them, trying to push them, trying to be behind them as much as I possibly can.

“The most important thing of this whole situation is the group of players we're going to be working with to make them better, to improve, to win, to show people that it's a team who want to win and a team who wants to move forward.

“I just want to be a part of that as much as I possibly can.”

And with his focus firmly on helping the Young Lions progress on and off the pitch, Coady made clear what success in the role would look like.

“Supporting Lee and Paul is a huge part of it, but making sure that team is a winning team I think is the biggest thing and the biggest thing that we all want to look forward to.”

The MU21s face three games in September and October, with all matches streamed live exclusively on the England app.

First up is Kazakhstan on Friday 25 September (7.30pm BST) at Coady’s former Wolves club home at Molineux before they tackle Slovakia a week later in Stoke on Friday 2 October (7.45pm BST). They then wrap up their UEFA U21 EURO Qualifying campaign against Republic of Ireland in Cork on Tuesday 6 October (6pm BST).