Gareth Southgate may look to land a ‘dream’ transfer if he becomes Manchester United manager.
Given Ruben Amorim’s dismal record since taking charge of United, there’s no surprise that his position is under pressure from some sections of the fanbase.
In the 2024/25 season, Amorim, 40, took over from Erik ten Hag in November, but the side’s poor form continued, resulting in a record-low 15th place Premier League finish.
The Red Devils’ misery was further compounded in May when they lost 1-0 against Spurs in the Europa League final.
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United welcomed Matheus Cunha, Enzo Kana-Biyik, Diego Leon, Bryan Mbeumo, Benjamin Sesko and Senne Lammens to the club this summer in a bid to improve their fortunes amid a poor start to the 2025/26 campaign.
The 20-time Premier League champions finally secured their first win of the season against Burnley last weekend, which momentarily eased the pressure on Amorim.
The 3-2 victory came after a loss and a draw against Arsenal and Fulham before a penalty shootout defeat against League Two Grimsby in the Carabao Cup second round.
The international break will provide some respite for Amorim, but the speculation continues to swirl about his future.
According to Oddschecker, former England boss Gareth Southgate is the second favourite to become the next permanent Man United manager at odds of 5/1 behind the favourite, Crystal Palace head coach Oliver Glasner, who returns 4/1 odds.
So, what has Southgate said about a potential return to management following his England exit in the summer of 2024?
Southgate was pressed on the topic attended the PFA Awards in Manchester in August.
“You can’t say never to anything because 15 years ago I left Middlesbrough, and I wasn’t certain I would manage then,” he said.
“Then I ended up on a strange path into managing the national team. But it’s not something I’m actively looking at at the moment.”
And despite Southgate’s stance, he may yet be tempted by a potential reunion with one of his favourite and most trusted players.
Bayern Munich forward and England captain Harry Kane has previously been linked with a move to United back in 2023.
Recent reports have linked the former Spurs man with a return to the Premier League.
As reported by Spanish news outlet El Nacional in March, sources close to the 32-year-old claim that Liverpool are his preferred destination – although the chances of this are slim given the arrivals of Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike.
In theory, Kane and Southgate reuniting is not out of the question, but a lot of things must happen for this to actually become reality.
The pair previously worked together with England between 2016 and 2024, a period in which the Three Lions reached the World Cup semi-finals and two Euros finals.
Gareth Southgate’s true feelings on Harry Kane
It’s fair to say Southgate is a huge fan of Kane, which was obvious when he handed him the England captaincy in 2018.
"I think he's done a fantastic job," Southgate told Sky Sports in 2018. "He's not really captained his club as such, so to show the leadership that he did throughout the tournament for us, I was really pleased and really impressed."
Alongside captaining England to their first World Cup semi-final since 1990, Kane picked up the Golden Boot with six goals in Russia.
Topics: Gareth Southgate, Manchester United, Harry Kane, Premier League, Football, Ruben Amorim, Transfer News
Luke Davies