Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag remains under pressure in his job and one pundit has claimed a current player has suggested the Dutchman is finished at Old Trafford.
Ten Hag has got United into an FA Cup final but there remains a big pressure around him going into the summer.
The Dutch manager has come out swinging in recent weeks and ahead of facing Arsenal today, he’d been in a bullish mood in his press conferences.
However, also speaking ahead of the game was former Liverpool midfielder and now pundit, Jason McAteer.
And McAteer has made a big claim, suggesting he’s spoken with a current player about Ten Hag being replaced by a current international manager.
Pundit says Gareth Southgate to Manchester United appears to be ‘done’
Speaking on BEIN Sports before United kicked off against Arsenal, McAteer revealed he’d spoken to a player at the club about who the next manager would be.
“I had a conversation with him on Friday, I bumped into him because I live just outside the area so I bumped into him and we had a conversation, a great lad, and I asked him about the end of the season and what his thoughts are,” McAteer said.
“He gave me no inclination that the manager was there to stay. In fact, we spoke about different names and who he thought would be a good fit.”
When pressed on the name by presenter Richard Keys, McAteer then denied the likes of Thomas Tuchel and Jose Mourinho, before admitting that Gareth Southgate was the name being mentioned.
“Yeah, that was the name. Footballers have an inclination when the manager’s job is on the line and they obviously know and I just got the feeling that it’s done, it’s done.”
Southgate to United makes a lot of sense but leaks are a worry
READ MORE: What Gary Neville has said about Gareth Southgate to Man United links
Of course, the links to Southgate for United are nothing brand new in terms of the news story. He is close with Dan Ashworth and looked on fondly by Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS.
But the revelation from McAteer here is another element to the story and if a current player is gossiping, then it shows just what the problems are in this current United squad.
Southgate does make sense and as a figurehead for one of the biggest clubs in the land, he’d handle the media and global nature of the club well.
But the problem once again comes back to this sort of news getting out. For a player to speak to a pundit and a former Liverpool player at that, just stinks.
United fans deserve better and it will be interesting to see if this one has legs.
