News that Gareth Southgate has stepped down from the England job will no doubt have piqued the interest of a number of clubs.
There were clear signs that Euro 2024 might be Southgate’s last tournament in charge of the national team, however, as the Three Lions made their way to another final, a school of thought that suggested the FA wanted him to stay on wasn’t without merit.
Man United make definitive Southgate decision
Before Man United decided to continue with the services of Erik ten Hag, there were cogent reasons to believe that Old Trafford might well have been Southgate’s next destination.
According to the Daily Mail, the Red Devils are already making contingency plans just in case things don’t work out with the Dutchman.
The club have a definitive idea of who they would want as their next manager in that eventuality, and the outlet note that they would turn to Thomas Tuchel assuming he was still available, and not Southgate.
Indeed, it may well be that the former England manager would now feel that the time is right for a sabbatical not unlike that which Jurgen Klopp is taking, before getting back into the game at a time Southgate feels is right for him.
The pressure of being in charge of the Three Lions, particularly when you’re coming so close to breaking England’s decades-long search for a trophy, is bound to take its toll.
At least now there can be no doubt that when Southgate does finally decide that the time is right to get back into club management, it won’t be at Old Trafford.
Tuchel’s way of playing is certainly in sharp contrast to Southgate’s and probably more in line with the style that ten Hag is trying to implement at United.