Man United’s “natural appointment” has been named if Erik ten Hag leaves

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag’s future at the club has become a part of conversation again.

It looked like the dust had settled regarding his future but two defeats in the first three games of the season have made the situation difficult again for the Dutch manager.

The Red Devils indulged in talks with Thomas Tuchel and Mauricio Pochettino over the summer but they ultimately decided to keep Ten Hag at the club and continue the work he started two years ago.

According to journalist Miguel Delaney, former England boss Gareth Southgate is a “natural appointment” if Ten Hag leaves the club.

While speaking on the Back Pages podcast, the journalist said:

“They’re all into this high performance culture that Ashworth and Brailsford would promote. And while it was maybe seen that would make Southgate a natural appointment for United if Ten Hag does leave, maybe it goes the opposite way. Whereas, that sort of connection influences Southgate in actually expanding his horizons and going into something else, given how much as well, he promoted the idea of high performance culture around England.”

Southgate has admirers at Old Trafford and it is not a secret but whether he could be the right man for the Man United job remains to be seen.

Ten Hag has struggled in the Premier League and the Champions League but his performances in the cup competitions have been impressive.

The Red Devils won the Carabao Cup last season and this year, they managed to win the FA Cup by beating rivals and Premier League winners Manchester City.

Erik ten Hag has to produce better results at Man United

He has struggled to build a playing style of the team though, and with the club making heavy investment in the squad recently, they would expect better results over all.

Southgate has recently left his post as the England manager and he is currently without a team.

If Ten Hag fails to turnaround the poor start to the season that they have had, the 54-year-old Southgate could be called to clean the mess.