GARETH SOUTHGATE has suffered a major blow one year out from the European Championship after Chelsea pinched a key member of his backroom staff.
The England boss has lost the FA’s head of performance Bryce Cavanagh – who has been working with the Three Lions since 2016.
Cavanagh, 46, is credited with making England one of the fittest international teams in the world.
And his arrival at Stamford Bridge – as reported by the Mail – is seen as a huge boost for new Blues manager Mauricio Pochettino.
Cavanagh joined the FA from Super Rugby franchise Melbourne Rebels.
He has also worked for Munster Rugby, the West Indies cricket team, and Aussie rules team Sydney Swans.
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Chelsea will be hoping he can provide their medical and sports science department with some stability.
Doctors Paco Biosca and Thierry Laurent and physios Jason Palmer and Jon Fearn all left the club last summer.
During Cavanagh's time working for the FA, he liaised closely with Premier League clubs by giving individual players specific fitness routines.
He will work alongside assistant coach Jesus Perez at Chelsea – with the American taking charge of the overall fitness of the players.
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Chelsea's decision to appoint Cavanagh is said to have pre-dated the arrival of manager Pochettino.
Meanwhile, Southgate is looking to clinch England's first silverware in 58 years at the Euros next summer.
Taking charge of the national team in 2016 following the abrupt departure of Sam Allardyce, he reached the semi-finals of his first major tournament at the 2018 World Cup.
He then went one step further at Euro 2020 – making it all the way to the final before losing to Italy on penalties.
Then, at last year's World Cup, England were eliminated by France in the quarter-finals.
They have made the perfect start to Euro 2024 qualification, winning all four of their games, scoring 15 and conceding just one.
England's next set of fixtures come in September when they travel to Ukraine for another qualifier, before they take on Scotland in a friendly.
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