FA confirm England women’s boss Sarina Wiegman will be considered to replace Gareth Southgate once he departs

FA chief executive Mark Bullingham has confirmed that Sarina Wiegman is in contention to replace Gareth Southgate once he leaves his role at England.

The Lionesses boss is attracting deserved praise after guiding England to the Women’s World Cup final where they’ll take on Spain on Sunday – live on talkSPORT.

Wiegman is undoubtedly one of the top managers in football right nowGetty

FA chief Bullingham believes that Wiegman could do any job in football amid links with Southgate’s jobGetty

Wiegman has already led the Lionesses to UEFA Women’s Championship glory last year.

She previously guided the Netherlands to the same crown in 2017, as well as finishing as runners up at the 2019 World Cup.

As a result, victory for the Lionesses this weekend would see the 53-year-old complete the women’s game, leading to speculation about what she’ll do next.

While Bullingham is hopeful that Wiegman will remain in charge of the Lionesses, he hasn’t ruled out the prospect of her taking a top job in the men’s game.

He explained: “Sarina’s doing the Lionesses, she’s doing a brilliant job.

“I don’t like the language, should it be the best man for the job. I think it’s the best person for the job.

“Do I think football is behind other sports in terms of a lack of female coaches at the top level? I do.

“I think that has to change and the third part of it is do I think Sarina could do any job in football? Yes, I do.

Wiegman could become a World Cup winner if the Lionesses see off Spain this weekendAFP

“I’m really happy with the job she’s doing and I hope she stays doing that for a long time.

“If at some point in the future she decides she wants to move into the men’s game, that would be a really interesting discussion, but that’s for her, right?”

He added: “It’s the best person for the job. If that person’s a woman, then why not? You analyse the pool for the job at that particular time.

“Do I think there’s a really strong diverse pool of both men and women for a big national job?

“No, I think the pool is small for both, actually. But I don’t like the mindset that it has to be a man.

“So, I’ll say it again. From our point of view, Sarina is doing a great job in what she’s doing and we want her to continue.

“If and when we get a vacancy in either of our senior men’s or women’s manager positions, we’d go for the best person for the job, which would be the best person capable of winning matches.”