David Beckham has held talks with former Manchester United teammate Phil Neville to discuss the coaching position at Inter Miami, sources have told ESPN.
Neville, a co-owner of EFL League Two club Salford City alongside Miami part-owner Beckham, is due to leave his post as head coach of the England Women’s team later this year after initially announcing his decision to step down last April.
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The 43-year-old pledged to continue in the role until after this summer’s delayed Tokyo Olympics due to his successor, Sarina Wiegman, remaining in her post as head coach of Netherlands until September.
But with Beckham ready to offer Neville the opportunity to take charge of the MLS team ahead of the new season, which is scheduled to start in early March, sources have said that the former Everton midfielder is keen to find a solution with the English Football Association which will enable him to accept the Miami job and move to the United States.
Diego Alonso is the head coach at Inter Miami, but uncertainty surrounds his position, with the club saying last month that his future was ‘still being determined.’
Miami finished 10th in their debut season in the MLS Eastern Conference in 2020, but sources have said that Beckham and his fellow investors are determined to see an improvement in performance in 2021, with a new coach likely to be hired to take the team in a new direction.
Neville has yet to take his first role in management in the men’s game, having coached England Women since 2018.
The former England international spent a season as first-team coach at United during David Moyes’s year in charge in 2013-14 and also briefly worked in La Liga with Valencia under Nuno Espirito Santo and his brother, Gary, during the 2015-16 season.
But sources have said he now feels ready to take job in club management and is open to the opportunity on offer with Miami.