Man Utd ‘admire’ Gareth Southgate as clear favourite to succeed Ten Hag emerges

Erik ten Hag still faces an uncertain future at Manchester United despite signing a new contract, with Sir Jim Ratcliffe keeping a close eye on potential replacements and outlining a clear favourite to take the job in the event that the Dutchman fails to spark the sort of results expected of him at Old Trafford.

The Dutch coach avoided the sack by the skin of his teeth last season, largely because the Red Devils won the FA Cup, despite the fact they finished eighth in the Premier League table.

Sources have informed TEAMtalk that Ten Hag’s one-year extension should not be taken as a statement of trust in the manager, with Man Utd chiefs ready to pull the trigger and bring in someone new if he struggles again this season.

For now, the Red Devils intend to back the manager and bolster their squad and their focus is on signing the best young talents available.

They’ve already signed talented young striker Joshua Zirkzee and a deal for highly-rated centre-back Leny Yoro is now imminent, with the 18-year-old set to undergo his medical.

According to the Daily Mail, Man Utd have no plans to sack Ten Hag currently, but the club’s first choice to replace him if the 2024/25 season goes badly is Thomas Tuchel.

The former Chelsea manager, who most recently took charge of Bayern Munich, is out of contract and as previously reported, is very open to taking the reigns at Old Trafford.

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Gareth Southgate ‘admired’ by Man Utd chiefs

Another coach heavily linked with replacing Ten Hag at Man Utd is Gareth Southgate, and those reports aren’t going away any time soon.

He has just resigned as England boss after the Three Lions lost to Spain in the Euro 2024 final and reportedly has interest from various clubs.

Just a couple months ago, Southgate was the clear favourite to replace Ten Hag, but The Mail claims that this is no longer the case.

The report states that Southgate does have ‘admirers at the highest level’ within Man Utd,  it is ‘highly unlikely’ that he would take over should a need for a new manager arise.

Ratcliffe held talks with Tuchel in June before deciding to put his faith in Ten Hag and he remains the INEOS chiefs’ top manager target.

For now though he remains fully behind Ten Hag ahead of the coming season and there are some busy weeks ahead for the Red Devils as they prepare for the coming season.

They are keen to sign another new centre-back after Yoro with Jarrad Branthwaite still very much admired, as well as a new midfielder, right-back and possibly another striker too.

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