BIG SAM TURNS TO SHAKEY
Foxes coach Craig could aid Allardyce
SAM ALLARDYCE has turned to the man who helped Leicester win the Premier League to form part of his new England coaching staff.
Leicester No.2 Craig Shakespeare is the coach Allardyce wants to join his backroom team.
The new England boss was keen to lure Bayern Munich assistant coach Paul Clement.
Allardyce wanted Clement – Carlo Ancelotti’s trusted right-hand man – to work part-time with England during international breaks.
But the German giants have blocked a job share agreement for the highly-rated ® 44-year-old. Bayern’s stance is that one of the brighter young coaches in the game should fully concentrate on one job alone.
That left Big Sam searching for another coach and that man could be Shakespeare, a key figure behind the scenes in Leicester’s amazing againstthe-odds title triumph last season.
His contribution was rewarded by Leicester, who gave him a new contract in May.
Foxes boss Claudio Ranieri has made no secret of his belief in Shakespeare, 52, after branding him “a great man doing a fantastic job for Leicester”.
Allardyce, who was confirmed as Roy Hodgson’s successor last week, has already hired Sammy Lee as an assistant coach.
Lee, 57, has worked extensively with the FA in the past and has 14 England caps from his playing days.
But there is a desire to bring in a younger man to fulfil the spot vacated by Gary Neville.
The former Manchester United star joined Hodgson in resigning immediately after England’s Euro 2016 defeat by Iceland, along with assistant Ray Lewington. Clement (below) has worked within the England camp on an informal basis in the past and has advised the Under-21s manager Gareth Southgate. Though the FA may yet make a second approach for Clement, Allardyce is facing up to the prospect of missing out on his firstchoice backroom team. That leaves gaps for Big Sam to fill and the former Sunderland manager described Lee as, “The first of many”. Allardyce is currently preparing for England’s opening World Cup qualifier in Slovakia on September 4.