Lee Carsley

Lee Kevin Carsley (born 28 February 1974) is a professional football coach and former player who is the head coach of the England national under-21 football team.

In a playing career lasting 17 years, Carsley played as a midfielder in the Premier League and Football League with Derby County, Blackburn Rovers, Coventry City, Everton and Birmingham City. Born and raised in Birmingham, England, Carsley represented the Republic of Ireland at international level and was chosen for the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

After retiring from playing in 2011, Carsley entered coaching with Coventry City. He held youth roles with Coventry, Brentford, Manchester City and Birmingham City, serving each club (bar Manchester City) as interim first team manager. Carsley joined the England youth setup as a specialist coach in 2015, before being appointed head coach of England U20 in 2020 and then being promoted to England U21 in 2021 and leading them to back-to-back victories in the European Championship in 2023 and 2025.

Club career

Derby County

A defensive midfielder, Carsley began his career with First Division club Derby County and made his debut in a 6–1 Anglo-Italian Cup group stage victory over Cesena on 6 September 1994. He went on to become a regular fixture in the team during the 1994–95 and 1995–96 seasons, making 37 appearances and scoring two goals in the latter campaign to help the Rams to a second-place finish and promotion to the Premiership. Carsley made 30 appearances during his first season in the top-flight as the club consolidated its position with a 12th-place finish. He remained at Pride Park until March 1999 and departed Derby having made 166 appearances and scored five goals for the club.