Harry Redknapp warns FA to avoid Pep Guardiola and claims ‘sleepwalking’ England face an Italy-style World Cup nightmare

HARRY REDKNAPP warns English football is sleepwalking into an Italy-style nightmare — and insists the FA must NOT chase Pep Guardiola. The former West Ham and Tottenham boss says Thomas Tuchel needs total backing while insisting England’s academy system is quietly collapsing. Harry Redknapp has warned the FA over appointing Pep Guardiola as England manager Credit: Darren Fletcher The Spanish manager has verbally agreed to take over the Three Lions Credit: Getty With Guardiola turning down the Italy job, Redknapp insists Wembley chiefs should steer away from targeting the former Manchester City manager. Redknapp said: “Everybody seems to think Pep is some sort of magic wand in football. The bloke is an absolute tactical genius, no doubt about it. Sign up for the Football newsletter Thank you! “But you can’t just teleport Pep into the England set-up and suddenly expect guaranteed trophies. “At club level, Pep’s always had massive money to spend. If he needs a full-back who can step into midfield, he buys a £70million player. “In international football, there are no chequebooks. You don’t have transfer windows. You get what your country produces, and that’s the end of the story.” And Redknapp has grave concerns about the future production line of English talent and fears not enough are coming through. He said: “Italy is a proper warning sign for us. A massive footballing powerhouse missing out on back-to-back World Cups is absolute madness — criminal really. “Yet, if we aren’t careful, we are sleepwalking straight into the exact same disaster. Most read in Sport SUN VEGAS WELCOME OFFER: GET UP TO £100 BONUS Thomas Tuchel led England to a third place finish at the World Cup Credit: Getty “The pipeline of young local talent in Italy has dried up and it’s starting to happen here.” Having overseen one of the most prolific academy eras in modern English football, Redknapp believes top-flight clubs are drastically undermining their own local production lines. He said: “Back in my day at West Ham, we had a proper production line coming through — Michael Carrick, Joe Cole, Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard, Glen Johnson, Jermain Defoe. “We had players bursting into the team who lived and breathed the club, knew the culture, and went on to play for the Three Lions. “It breaks my heart because half these academy boys now don’t even get to watch the first team train. They’re stuck on faraway pitch behind high fences. “At West Ham, we had the lads sweeping the terraces, staying behind after training, kicking balls against walls and watching the senior pros. “Now everything is sanitised. You can’t build steel in kids if you insulate them from real senior football.” To fix the crisis, Redknapp called for strict policy changes within the Premier League, urging that clubs be forced to field homegrown players rather than buying foreign squad options. Italy have failed to qualify for a World Cup since 2014 Credit: Reuters Redknapp said: “There should be rules in place where Premier League clubs have to field a set number of English players. That’s how you protect our future. “Right now, top clubs just go abroad to buy ready-made players, and our young homegrown lads get blocked at every turn.” Maintaining his traditionalist view on international management, Redknapp argued that national teams should strictly employ managers from their own country. He said: “In an ideal world, an English national team should be led by an English manager. “The Spain manager is Spanish. The France manager is French. The Argentina manager was Argentinian who used to play for West Ham! “We’ve got brilliant managers like Eddie Howe who know our culture. “Plus top former players like Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard who have cut their teeth in management. “But it’s clear the only way English managers usually get Premier League jobs is if they get promoted from the Championship. Eddie Howe has long been tipped to become England manager Credit: Getty Frank Lampard has led Coventry to the Premier League Credit: PA “If we don’t trust and back our own coaches, what message are we sending to the next generation?” Redknapp urged the nation to get behind the current boss Tuchel for the task ahead while fixing the long-term system. The former manager said: “Don’t get me wrong, we’ve actually got a fantastic squad of players right now who are more than good enough to go and win a major trophy. “So let’s forget about chasing Pep. Let’s give Tuchel our full backing for the job ahead. “And let’s sort out our youth development before we end up like the Italians, watching the World Cup from the sofa at home.” Comment now