Three days have passed since Manchester United’s FA Cup final victory and the club is yet to decide on Erik ten Hag’s future.
The Dutchman secured a surprise 2-1 win over Manchester City at Wembley and picked up his second trophy at Manchester United in the process.
Despite a memorable trip to London on Saturday, United are already exploring their options ahead of an end-of-season review this week.
The Red Devils have reportedly held talks with the agents of Brentford boss Thomas Frank and former Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino.
But The Independent’s Miguel Delaney has claimed he has ‘repeatedly heard’ that INEOS’ preferred candidate is actually England boss Gareth Southgate.
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Southgate is Man United’s preferred choice to replace Ten Hag
Speaking on Sky Sports’ Back Pages Podcast, Delaney claimed that United want to hire Southgate ‘more than anyone else’.
But with the Englishman set to head to the Euros this summer, it’s a ‘very difficult’ move to make.
“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,” the journalist said.
“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.”
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What Roy Keane has said about Southgate
The arrival of Southgate would likely divide opinion amongst United supporters. He hasn’t exactly been the most popular figure over the past couple of years with England and has faced plenty of scrutiny.
With that being said, he has an admirer in United legend Roy Keane, who previously labelled the England boss as a ‘brilliant’ manager’.
“Brilliant, a really top man,” Keane said. “I think we actually beat him with Sunderland at Middlesbrough and he was great after the game. A classy guy and top man, considering we a had a difficult start..”
“He’s just a quality guy, you can’t begrudge Gareth any success. The way he has done it, working with the under-21s, nearly 100 international matches at both levels.
“I’ve got loads of time for Gareth, as a player we had battles, but managing and then working with him, having some good chats and some late nights, he’s a brilliant guy.”
Euro 2024 complicates United’s Southgate interest
With Southgate set to lead England out at this summer’s Euros in Germany, it’s difficult to see him landing at United.
Should he guide the Three Lions to the final, he would be occupied at the tournament until July 14.
If United opt for a change in the dugout, you’d imagine that they will be keen for any potential new manager to be in place for the full pre-season.
It also feels unlikely that the club would be able to announce such a move while Southgate bids to deliver a major trophy in what could be his last tournament in charge.