Keane, Neville can ‘see’ Gareth Southgate at Man Utd for one key reason

Roy Keane and Gary Neville can both “see” Gareth Southgate replacing Erik ten Hag at Manchester United for one key reason amid reports Sir Jim Ratcliffe has made the England boss his ‘number one choice’.

Despite United’s dramatic win over fierce rivals Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-final, Ten Hag is under significant pressure to keep his job having struggled in his second season at Old Trafford.

Southgate the ‘overwhelming choice’

A number of candidates have been linked with the job following he arrival of Ratcliffe as co-owner, but a report on Wednesday claimed Southgate is their preferred choice to replace Ten Hag should the Dutchman be shown the door.

The INEOS owner is said to be ‘increasingly confident’ of luring Southgate, who is the ‘overwhelming choice’ of ‘United’s former greats’ and ‘has the backing of some of United’s current players’.

The Mailbox suggested Southgate’s appointment would prompt ‘incandescent rage’ from Keane, but the former United captain says he’s “not surprised” by the links given his connection with soon-to-be sporting director Dan Ashworth, who worked the Southgate for years with England.

The Dan Ashworth connection

Keane said on the Stick to Football podcast: “I could see that happening [Gareth Southgate being the next Manchester United manager]. Well, obviously everyone’s thinking he’s probably going to be with England this summer if he has a good Championship, thinking if they could win it.

“And if they don’t, then maybe they’re thinking maybe you’ve ran your race with him. His connection with Dan Ashworth, who he has worked with previously. Yeah, I’m not that surprised with it.”

Neville agrees that Ashworth’s arrival gives Southgate a good chance of being appointed, but claims it will be difficult given his commitment to England and Euro 2024 this summer.

“I never saw Gareth Southgate as a Manchester United manager, psychologically, I never saw that. I can see it now, now Dan Ashworth has come in. I just think, what does Erik ten Hag need to do to stay as Manchester United manager. So, for instance, is the FA Cup enough, or does he need to get top four, or top five, Champions League.

“I think if Gareth is leaving, I think to be honest with you, you’ll have seen this in tournaments, but it’s never been easy. England will have qualifiers starting up again a couple of months after the tournament, so they’ll have to have a new manager in. And Gareth will need to sort his future out, to get a club for potentially the start of next season.

“So, I think if it’s done maturely, I can see how it would be brought forward in terms of Gareth. Forget Manchester United, England would need to appoint a new manager. So, they are going to have to appoint a new manager pre-tournament [the Euros this summer], probably. And say Gareth is going to be leaving after the tournament, unless he’s just going to leave on the last day and do it quietly, I don’t know.”

READ MORE: Five reasons Gareth Southgate would *actually* be good for Manchester United