Why Man Utd want an early Euro 2024 exit for England

James Shearman

• Updated: 7 Jun 2024 14:30 BST
• 3 min read

Manchester United have reportedly made Gareth Southgate their number-one target to replace Erik ten Hag this summer.

While Ten Hag has not yet been sacked, is it understood that he is under huge pressure at Old Trafford following a disappointing 2023-24 campaign.

Man Utd lost 19 games in all competitions - the most in a single campaign for over 45 years - and recorded their lowest finishing position since 1990 (8th).

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Thomas Tuchel, Roberto De Zerbi, Zinedine Zidane, Thomas Frank and Graham Potter have all been linked with a move to Old Trafford in recent weeks.

But, England boss Gareth Southgate is currently United’s preferred choice, according to The Independent.

Why Man Utd want an early Euro 2024 exit for England

Southgate is unwilling to discuss the Man Utd job until Euro 2024 is over.

He told ITV News last month: “‘If I start talking about that, then I'm already distracted from what I'm doing, so I think the country would expect that my focus is on England, and rightly so.

"We've had three tournaments where we've taken the public on a brilliant ride, and I know that we've got that desire to go that one step further.”

So, the best case for United is that England exit as early as possible, in order to get talks with Southgate underway.

England are in Group C at the Euros, alongside Serbia, Slovenia and Denmark, and they are fully expected to progress.

Should the Three Lions win their group, they are likely to have a relatively easy round-of-16 opponent, too.

But, they could face Italy in the quarter-final on July 6 and France in the semi-final on July 10.