Manchester United reportedly want one manager “more than anyone else” to replace Erik ten Hag if he leaves Old Trafford.
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The Red Devils ended the 2023/24 campaign with silverware at Wembley, winning the FA Cup after a brilliant 2-1 victory over rivals Manchester City.
There were reports prior to the game that Ten Hag would be sacked whatever the result against the Premier League winners, however, there have since been claims that the Dutchman still has the backing of a number of prominent figures behind the scenes at Old Trafford who are keen for Ten Hag to stay.
Speculation elsewhere have stated that Ten Hag is still likely to be sacked, with Ratcliffe and INEOS expected to go through an end of season review.
Should United be on the lookout for a new manager, then England boss Gareth Southgate is one target who has been heavily linked with a move to Manchester.
Earlier this month, speaking to Richard Keys on beIN, former Liverpool player Jason McAteer claimed that a current Manchester United player believed Ten Hag is "done" at Old Trafford and Southgate will be Man Utd's new manager.
"He plays for Man United and I had a conversation with him on Friday, I bumped into him because I live just outside the area.
"We got into conversation, great lad, and I asked him (about the) end of the season and what he thought and he gave me no inclination that the manager was there to stay. In fact we spoke about different names and who we thought will be a good fit and I got no inclination from him."
McAteer added that the player in question "smiled but that wasn't the name" when asked about Tuchel, and gave a "no" regarding Jose Mourinho, before saying "yes that was the name" when bringing up Southgate. Now, a new update has emerged on the 53-year-old.
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Talking to Sky Sports’ Back Pages Podcast, relayed by The Boot Room, journalist Miguel Delaney said that the Red Devils want Southgate “more than anyone else” but described it as a “very difficult” deal to do this summer due to England being in EURO 2024.
“As regards to INEOS’ decision, obviously it is complicated by the FA Cup final win, as well as the sentiment of the fans and I think another complication is the market. From what I’ve repeatedly heard, the figure they wanted more than anyone else is Southgate, or certainly some of the key figures in INEOS want Southgate, but that’s obviously very difficult this summer.
“So that again lends another layer to this, but it’s interesting if they do, I think it would go against what INEOS are supposed to bring to the club from the football department, if they were guided by the FA Cup Final, because all of this is supposed to be very kind of cold-headed, sophisticated approaches where you look to the long term, and not be guided by emotion in that way. If they did stick with him, it would kind of remind me of giving Solskjaer the job in 2019.”
Southgate’s full focus is on the European Championships with the Three Lions, and should they reach the final, Ratcliffe and co may need to wait until the middle of July until they can talk to him over a possible Old Trafford move.
That would be around a month before the 2024/25 season gets underway, which could be a big risk in regards to putting plans in place and working in pre-season with the United squad.