England manager Gareth Southgate is reportedly considering stripping the captaincy from Wayne Rooney, according to the Express.
The 46-year-old, who put pen to paper on a four-year deal as national team boss, which will pocket him around £1.8m-a-year, is understood to prefer midfielder Jordan Henderson as his preferred skipper going forward.
Photo: Simon Stacpoole / Offside.
The report suggests that the former Middlesbrough and England Under-21 manager is determined to make his mark as the Three Lions’ latest permanent boss following his unbeaten four-game interim spell, in which he defeated Malta and rivals Scotland during their 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign.
Liverpool’s Henderson, 26, was handed the armband during both of those previous fixtures, whilst Manchester United forward Rooney was dropped against Slovenia, before being restricted to the bench against Spain due to injury.
Southgate’s first game in charge as permanent coach of the national side will be against 2014 World Cup champions Germany in Dortmund in March, followed by England’s next qualifier against Lithuania at Wembley Stadium.
