Former Chelsea striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has joined Gareth Southgate‘s England coaching staff, helping lead a first training session on Tuesday.
Hasselbaink replaces Chris Powell, who opted to leave the Three Lions setup to focus on his coaching job with Tottenham’s academy after his contract expired following the World Cup in Qatar.
He has been replaced by Hasselbaink, who most recently worked as the Burton Albion manager just a few miles away from England’s St George’s Park training base, and on Tuesday was helping preparing the squad to face Italy and Ukraine in European Championship qualifier matches.
Hasselbaink, 50, has only recently returned from a trip to Mumbai in India, where he had duties as a Chelsea ambassador.
The appointment is designed to highlight the Football Association’s commitment to improving diversity in coaching, with the underrepresentation of black coaches still rife across the English game.
England players and staff will on Wednesday travel to Naples. Marcus Rashford, Mason Mount and Nick Pope have withdrawn from the squad, with only Fraser Forster called up as a replacement.
