Steve Cooper: England U17 coach set to be named as new Swansea City manager

Published on: 11 June 2019

Steve Cooper is the son of former referee Keith Cooper

World Cup-winning England Under-17 coach Steve Cooper is set to be appointed Swansea City manager.

Cooper is understood to have agreed terms with Swansea having been offered the chance to succeed Graham Potter, who left to take over Brighton and Hove Albion.

The Welshman, 39, impressed during two interviews with the Championship club.

Cooper is currently employed by the Football Association, but that is not expected to be an issue.

The Pontypridd-born coach is likely to be joined at Swansea by Mike Marsh, the former Liverpool midfielder who has worked with him at the FA and previously at Anfield.

Cooper has seen off the likes of Michael Appleton, Lee Bowyer, Cameron Toshack and John Eustace to take over at the Liberty Stadium.

He is likely to be confirmed as Swansea's new boss in the next 48 hours.

Cooper was Liverpool's academy manager before joining the Football Association in 2013.

He led an England side featuring Phil Foden and Jadon Sancho to victory in the Under-17 World Cup in 2017.

Steve Cooper celebrates England's victory over Spain in 2017

Cooper was on the books at Wrexham as a youngster but failed to make a professional appearance for the north Wales club.

He went on to play for The New Saints, Rhyl, Bangor City and Porthmadog but began taking his coaching badges young and had a pro licence - the highest qualification - at the age of 27.

Cooper's coaching career began at Wrexham, where his work in the youth set-up saw him land a move to Liverpool's academy in 2008.

He worked with the likes of Raheem Sterling, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Ben Woodburn during his time on Merseyside, where he was promoted to academy manager in 2011.

Cooper joined the FA as a youth coach educator in 2013 and was named England Under-16s coach in 2014, meaning he was working directly under then England Under-21 coach Gareth Southgate.

He was made Under-17 coach in 2015 and steered England to victory in the World Cup in India two years later.

Swansea want a manager who will play possession football and Cooper is seen as someone who fits that bill.

Source: bbc.com

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