MANCHESTER UNITED could find themselves filled with England stars if Gareth Southgate takes over as manager.
United shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe has reportedly made Southgate his No1 choice to replace under-fire boss Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford.
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This comes amid a turbulent campaign under Ten Hag, which has seen the Red Devils getting eliminated from the Champions League’s group stage and plunging to sixth place in the Premier League.
Southgate‘s contract runs out in December and Ratcliffe is said to be confident in prising him over to club football once again following his three-year spell at Middlesbrough which ended in 2009.
That is despite the FA’s desperate attempts to hold onto the 53-year-old, who has refused to even discuss his future until after Euro 2024.
But as things stand, Sir Jim would have to fork out around £800,000 in compensation for the Three Lions boss’ services while needing to splash £10million just to sack Ten Hag and his coaching staff.
If Southgate took over at United then it is fair to assume he would try to attract some of England’s best players while showing faith in the club’s English talent.
Andre Onana’s inconsistent performance could convince the Watford tactician to call on his England No1 Jordan Pickford, who sat between the sticks during the 2018 World Cup and Euro 2020.
Pickford was linked with the Manchester giants last summer and Ineos would find it much easier to attract him this time around if Everton don’t survive their relegation scrap.
Diogo Dalot recently signed a new deal so he could maintain his position at right-back while Luke Shaw has earned Southgate’s trust at left-back while on international duty.
But no one has received more confidence from the England boss than Harry Maguire who continued to play for his country despite his biggest struggles at United, while getting booed by home fans.
Therefore, it is fair to assume Maguire would be an established part in the line-up next to another recent transfer target in Jarrad Branthwaite.
Branthwaite, who earned his first England call up this week, has impressed United chiefs who could make a move in the summer transfer window.
Kobbie Mainoo also made the cut for the friendly matches against Brazil and Belgium and could continue his development in midfield alongside the experienced Casemiro and captain Bruno Fernandes.
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Marcus Rashford could finally regain his spark on the left wing under a manager who always rates top English talent with Alejandro Garnacho continuing his evolution on the other side.
And Southgate’s line-up could be completed with one of the Red Devils’ longest-running targets in Harry Kane.
United tried to sign Kane last summer but Tottenham were not keen to sell to a Prem rival and demanded a large transfer fee.
And so the star striker ended up at Bayern Munich following a £104m deal.
However, Southgate has had a brilliant relationship with the 30-year-old, who became captain as well as England’s all-time top scorer under his current manager.
And this time around Southgate could convince Kane to return to the Premier League and help United return to the top.
