‘Deal me in’ says Fabio Capello as FA gets its No 1 man

Martin Samuel, Chief Football Correspondent

The board of the Football Association will today be asked to approve Fabio Capello as the next England head coach. The Italian has agreed in principle to succeed Steve McClaren and has left his legal team in London to complete negotiations.

After a three-hour meeting at Wembley Stadium yesterday, Brian Barwick, the FA chief executive, was sufficiently encouraged to believe that he had got his man and if he is given the green light by Capello’s lawyers this morning, will put his name before the 12-man board in a series of telephone conversations this afternoon.

Barwick was buoyant after Capello made a flying visit to London and was shown around Wembley before sitting down for a meeting with Sir Trevor Brooking, the FA’s director of football development, Barwick and Adrian Bevington, the director of communications, most of which was conducted in English. Capello departed for Italy later citing a prior commitment, but could return tomorrow for a formal presentation at a Soho Square press conference.

Capello left the final round of contractual talks to his legal representatives, including Pier Filippo, his son. The contract is believed to take him through to the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa, with the option of another two years to include the 2012 European Championship in Poland and Ukraine. His salary will be in the region of £4 million a year net.

Any appointment will need the ratification of the FA board, which is made up of five professional members, five representatives from the county associations, plus the chief executive and Geoff Thompson, the chairman, who do not have a vote, but Barwick has made it clear that he views support for his recommendation as fundamental. If he was to be embarrassed by his employers at this late stage, he would be left with no option but to resign, leaving the national game in meltdown.

Capello also made no secret of his position, arriving yesterday on a scheduled flight from Milan and leaving the same way from Heathrow. The only concession he made to anonymity was the blackened windows of the vehicle that drove him to Wembley for his first face-to-face talks with his future employers. Further evidence of Barwick’s single-minded determination to get Capello was provided by Marcello Lippi, the former Italy coach, who was also on the shortlist. It would appear that since the FA sounded out José Mourinho, Capello is the only manager who has been formally approached.

“Nobody has called me so far,” Lippi said. “Anyway, I think Capello is the best possible choice for England. You only have to see how many trophies he has won in his career to realise what his qualities are.”

Capello’s backroom team has yet to be confirmed, but sources in Italy were anxious to play down talk of a confrontational approach with the biggest names in the England squad. Capello, 61, is said to have had positive words for Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney and insists that there is no hangover from his days with David Beckham at Real Madrid.

Beckham was left out of Capello’s team for the first half of last season and returned only after proving his commitment to the cause with hard work in training. But Capello claims they parted on good terms after Beckham’s resurgence helped Real to the title. Provided that he is fit, it is likely that Beckham will win his 100th cap in Capello’s first game, against Switzerland in February