FA technical director Dan Ashworth believes the appointment of Aidy Boothroyd for this summer’s U21 Euro Finals is a boost for the coaching infrastructure currently in place.
Boothroyd will lead the Young Lions into action at the Finals in Poland this June, after previously taking over from Gareth Southgate on an interim basis last October.
And the national coach will continue that role into the summer, following a double-header in March against fellow Euro Finalists Germany and Denmark.
The former Watford boss was previously in charge of the U19s and U20s and Ashworth believes the transition to the U21s role will be a natural one.
“The flexibility of our development team coaching structure has proven to be invaluable in recent months and Aidy is a great example of that,” said Ashworth.
“During the recruitment process, we were looking for three areas of criteria for this role: somebody who has been a leader in the form of a manager, international experience as a coach or player and evidence of committing to youth development.
“Aidy is very experienced in all three of those key fields at a relatively young age.”
England manager Gareth Southgate, who previously held the role of U21s head coach since 2013, added: “Aidy is best placed to take charge of the U21s, especially given his experience with the U19s and U20s.
“He knows what is required from our development teams and will continue the progression of this talented group of players.
“The relationship between all of the national coaches is very important and I look forward to continue to work with Aidy closely.”
