LION IN WAIT
Gareth Southgate overtakes Graham Potter as overwhelming favourite for Man Utd job with England contract talks on hold
Scroll down to see how United might line up under Southgate
GARETH SOUTHGATE has overtaken Graham Potter as the bookies’ new 2-1 favourite for the Manchester United job.
Ex-Chelsea boss Potter had been lined up by Sir Jim Ratcliffe if Erik ten Hag is sacked.
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But England manager Southgate last week revealed he will shelve Three Lions contract talks until after Euro 2024.
And Ratcliffe, in charge of United’s football operations, said: “If we get the right people in the right boxes, the results will drop out the bottom.”
Potter worked closely with United’s incoming sporting director Dan Ashworth at Brighton, while Southgate has worked with him at the FA.
Reports suggest Sir Jim has made the 53-year-old his No1 choice to replace under-fire boss Ten Hag at Old Trafford.
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This comes amid a turbulent campaign for the Red Devils under the Dutchman.
The Manchester giants were eliminated from the Champions League's group stage before 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.
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Gareth Southgate's managerial career
Here is how Southgate's managerial career has unfolded:
June 2006: Joins Middlesbrough on a five-year deal after Steve McClaren left to become England manager
May 2007: Guided Boro to a 12th place finish in his first season in Premier League management
May 2008: Boro finish 13th and beat Man City 8-1 on the final day as Arsene Wenger labels Southgate "good enough" to coach England
May 2009: Boro are relegated on the final day after defeat to West Ham but Southgate stayed on as boss
October 2009: Southgate sacked by Boro despite the club sitting just one point adrift of top spot in the Championship
August 2013: Succeeds Stuart Pearce as England U21s manager
June 2015: England U21s finish bottom of their European Championship group with just one point from three games
September 2016: Southgate takes temporary charge of England's senior side following Sam Allardyce's dismissal
November 2016: Appointed England boss on a four-year contract
July 2018: Guides England to the World Cup semi-finals - their first journey to the last four since Euro 96
July 2021: England reach their first major final since 1966 but lose to Italy on penalties at Wembley
November 2021: Signs a new contract to keep him as England boss until December 2024
December 2022: Reaches the World Cup quarter-finals before England are beaten by France
That is despite the FA's desperate attempts to hold onto the Watford tactician.
But as things stand, Ratcliffe would have to fork out around £800,000 in compensation for the Three Lions boss' services.
Gareth Southgate drops Kobbie Mainoo Euro 2024 hint as England boss names four players on cusp of breaking into squad
The Ineos chief will also need to splash £10million just to sack Ten Hag and his coaching staff.
Potter has been without a job since his dismissal as Chelsea boss last April.
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Inside Ratcliffe's Man Utd plans
Everything you need to know as Sir Jim Ratcliffe takes charge at Manchester United...
- Ratcliffe opens door for controversial Mason Greenwood return
- We’re not a brutal organisation, but…' - Ratcliffe on Ten Hag's future
- Inside Ratcliffe's five-window transfer plan... including Rashford
- Ratcliffe channels Fergie with iconic warning to Man City and Liverpool
- Inside plans to turn Old Trafford into 'Wembley of the North'
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