Manchester United’s season review is in full swing after a good end to what has been a difficult season.
Erik ten Hag’s side concluded their campaign in the best possible fashion as they beat Manchester City 2-1 in the FA Cup final. The result means United will be competing in the Europa League next season.
However, the Dutchman’s future at Old Trafford is not yet secure and the Manchester Evening News understands a decision may be announced as late as next week. In our latest look at the media headlines, we take a look at who is being considered as INEOS’ first choice to replace Ten Hag should he leave.
READ MORE: United not planning imminent Ten Hag decision
READ MORE: United player ratings of the season
Southgate ‘first choice’ for INEOS
According to The Independent’s Miguel Delaney on Sky Sports’ Back Pages podcast, INEOS has always considered England boss Gareth Southgate to be their first choice to take on the role of head coach at United if Ten Hag was to leave. It is believed this has been made difficult due to fan sentiment towards the Dutchman after winning the FA Cup.
However, the end goal appears to be among ‘key INEOS employees’ that Southgate is the future for United.
What MEN Sport says: It is hard to criticise a decision Sir Jim Ratcliffe has yet to make but it seems difficult to back Southgate for the United job. While the England boss arguably gets unfair stick, managing an international team and a domestic club are two very different jobs. Southgate has managed in English football before with Middlesbrough but that stint at the Riverside Stadium was not something to write home about. Also, if Ratcliffe is determined to bring Southgate to the club this summer, the earliest he could be available is end of June but if the Three Lions go deep into the tournament, it will realistically be mid-July before he is available. Suddenly that is pushing it fine for Southgate to hit the ground running at Old Trafford. He would be a huge risk and not one United should be thinking of taking.
United hit a big Casemiro problem
According to Goal Brazil, Saudi Pro League clubs are reluctant to meet United’s valuation of Casemiro this summer. It is understood the Reds want £30m to sell the former Real Madrid man.
But, the Middle East clubs Al Ahli, Al Nassr and Al Qadisiyah who have registered interest in the Brazilian do not want to reach that figure.
What MEN Sport says: There is a real concern for United that the Saudi Pro League clubs have become wise as to how they spend their riches. Last summer, Chelsea managed to offload several of their big earners to the division which gave them a Financial Fair Play (FFP) boost. But it appears that the Reds will not be so fortunate if they want to part ways with a player who underperformed this season. It is clear now that spending such big money on Casemiro was a mistake considering there is no re-sale value there. However, if they can’t even secure a loss of £40m on the midfielder, it is a huge problem.