Gareth Southgate said on Saturday that he would not be in the running for the Chelsea job when Maurizo Sarri departs this summer and that he was confident his assistant Steve Holland, a former coach at the club, would also stay with England for next summer’s European championships.

Southgate, 48, would have figured on the club’s shortlist for the Chelsea job this summer and was certainly under consideration at Manchester United until Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was installed as the permanent manager in March. As Chelsea look to appoint a new permanent manager for the tenth time in the Roman Abramovich era, Holland is being considered for a role.

England play their final game of the season on Sunday in Guimaraes against Switzerland, the unwelcome third place Nations League play-off following defeat to Holland on Thursday.

Marina Granovskaia, the director who runs Chelsea on Abramovich’s behalf, rates Holland highly and would see him as a part of a new staff. He left to join the Football Association on a permanent basis in December 2016 with his role at Chelsea having been reduced throughout the Antonio Conte regime.

The FA thought it might be approached by Chelsea in order to appoint Holland as an interim manager in January and February when it seemed that Sarri might not even last the season at Stamford Bridge. Having survived to secure the club third place and the Europa League trophy he is expected to leave for Juventus in the next few days. The two clubs are agreeing compensation and then Chelsea will have to turn their minds to a new manager.