Leicester City manager Peter Taylor is believed to be the man wanted by England head coach Sven-Goran Eriksson to manage the under-21s and be groomed as the Swede's eventual successor.
It is understood that the FA will formally approach Leicester chairman John Elsom next week, when he returns from holiday, to request that Taylor steps back into the job he held during Glenn Hoddle's brief reign as national coach.
Taylor was brought back into the national set-up following Kevin Keegan's resignation, taking joint charge of the team with Steve McClaren for the friendly in Italy last year and assisting Eriksson as a coach since the former Lazio chief's arrival in England.
The Foxes boss was controversially dismissed as manager of England's under-21s following Glenn Hoddle's exit from the England post in January 1999 with FA Technical Director Howard Wilkinson assuming control of the position.
Taylor's record with the under-21s was excellent and many people were delighted to see him succeed in club management with Gillingham, guiding them to promotion to the First Division before being given the opportunity to manage in the Premiership, succeeding Martin O'Neill at Leicester City.
He got off to an incredible start at Filbert Street as The Foxes briefly topped the table but the second half of the season was not so successful, with the team suffering a club-record 10 straight losses towards the back end of the campaign.
Taylor has continually stressed that he is happy to continue helping with England as long as it does not hamper his ability to concentrate on his role at Leicester City, who have been extremely co-operative in allowing their manager to devote some of his valuable time to the national team.
Howard Wilkinson meanwhile has plenty on his plate as the FA's Technical Director and Chairman of the LMA, and it seems that the FA is urging him to concentrate on his role in helping to develop the new national academy and ensure that everything is in place to nurture the youngsters that will be the future of the English game.
The former Leeds boss has come in for criticism following his side's 3-1 defeat to Greece earlier this month, which has severely limited their chances of qualifying for the 2002 Under-21 European Championships.
Watch this space for further developments!
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