Cup shocks and £85m deals - Gareth Southgate's bizarre first Man Utd season predicted after Ten Hag exit
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The inevitable has come to pass as Manchester United have finally decided to part company with manager Erik ten Hag.
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Hide AdAfter winning major trophies in his first two seasons in charge at Old Trafford, speculation over the former Ajax head coach’s future with the Red Devils had ramped up in recent weeks and his departure was officially confirmed less than 24 hours after overseeing his final game in charge in Sunday’s defeat at West Ham United.
A club statement released on Monday lunchtime read: “Erik ten Hag has left his role as Manchester United men’s first-team manager.Erik was appointed in April 2022 and led the club to two domestic trophies, winning the Carabao Cup in 2023 and the FA Cup in 2024. We are grateful to Erik for everything he has done during his time with us and wish him well for the future. Ruud van Nistelrooy will take charge of the team as interim head coach, supported by the current coaching team, whilst a permanent head coach is recruited.”
With Ruud ‘at the wheel’ until a new head coach is appointed, we thought we would have some fun by firing up Football Manager 2024, using the editor to allow the former Netherlands international remain in charge until the summer before appointing former England manager Gareth Southgate as permanent successor to Ten Hag.
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Hide AdTo set the scene, Van Nistelrooy has guided the Red Devils to a ninth place finish in the Premier League and early exits from the FA Cup and Carabao Cup means there will be no European football for Southgate as he embarks on his first club managerial reign since leaving Middlesbrough just a week over 15 years ago.
Summer transfer business
Firstly, the outgoings and it would be best to start with the contract decisions undertaken by Southgate following his appointment. Tom Heaton, Jonny Evans, Christian Eriksen and Victor Lindelof were all allowed to depart Old Trafford when their current contracts came to an end in June 2025.
There will be little surprise to discover Southgate favourite Harry Maguire has penned a new three-year deal and young winger Amad Diallo has been handed a new five-year contract. Southgate has also raked in a significant amount from player sales and trimmed a large amount from a hefty wage bill by authorising the sales of Casemiro to Saudi club Al-Ahli, Antony to Paris Saint-Germain, Tyrell Malacia to Bayern Munich and, perhaps more surprisingly, Marcus Rashford to Juventus at a combined income of £142m.
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Hide AdNow for the fun part, the incomings and there were a few. Firstly, the big ones as the Red Devils won the race to sign Sporting CP and Sweden striker Viktor Gyokeres in a £71m move after seeing off competition from the likes of Inter, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. Bruno Guimaraes was also tempted away from Newcastle United in a £85m deal after the Magpies parted company with manager Eddie Howe following a tenth place finish in the Premier League table.
However, there were some prudent additions as free agent Ferland Mendy was snapped up following his departure from Real Madrid and Inter Milan wing-back Denzel Dumfries and Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret both arrived in similar deals.
Two further additions were made during the final week of the summer transfer window after Fulham midfielder Sander Berge joined in a £20m deal and, somewhat curiously, former Leeds United defender Charlie Cresswell arrived in a £5m move from French club Toulouse.
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Hide AdHow did Southgate’s side setup?
Andre Onana kept his place as goalkeeper under the new manager with Denzel Dumfries and Ferland Mendy acting as wing-backs on either side of a back five. Harry Maguire played in the middle of three centre-backs after penning his new deal and the England international was flanked by Leny Yoro and Lisandro Martinez. Manuel Ugarte featured as a holding midfielder with Kobbie Mainoo and summer signing Bruno Guimaraes also providing some energy and class in the middle of the park.
Bruno Fernandes was played further forward in a ‘number ten’ role behind new striker Viktor Gyokeres as Southgate opted to ask wing-backs Dumfries and Mendy to provide some attacking intent down the flanks. Although changes were made within the United side under their new manager, Southgate rarely drifted away from this preferred formation throughout the season.
How did Southgate fare in the Premier League?
In short, pretty well actually. Despite failing to win any of his first five games in charge, the former England manager got off the mark in spectacular fashion as Fernandes, Gyokeres and Mainoo all netted in a 3-1 home win against cross-city rivals Manchester City. That kick-started a fine run of form as the Red Devils lost just one of their next 14 games, with the one black mark on their record coming in somewhat unfortunate circumstances as a late Martinez own-goal saw them fall to a 1-0 defeat at newly promoted Middlesbrough.
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Hide AdHowever, the second half of the season, despite a quiet January transfer window, proved to be a success as the prolific form of Gyokeres forced Southgate’s side into contention for a Champions League spot. The Sweden international netted a hat-trick in a 4-0 home win against Brentford within the final month of the season to take his side into the top four - but they had to make do with a Europa League spot after suffering successive defeats against Liverpool and Crystal Palace in the final week of the season that saw them slip to sixth place in the table.
How did Southgate fare in the Carabao Cup?
Now this isn’t so positive as United’s involvement in the competition they last won in 2023 came to an end at the first hurdle after the Red Devils suffered a shock home defeat against Championship club Luton Town. It should be added, Southgate opted to name a much-changed starting eleven as he handed starts to a whole host of squad players and academy graduates - but there was still no excuses for a penalty shoot-out loss after the two sides failed to break the deadlock over 90 minutes.
How did Southgate fare in the FA Cup?
It was a similar story in the FA Cup for the new United manager - although he was left to rue his luck after his side were handed a third round away tie at Liverpool. The Reds were never likely to take pity on their bitter rivals and Arne Slot named a strong starting eleven that saw Mo Salah, Dominik Szoboszlai and Cody Gakpo all score twice as they inflicted a 6-3 defeat on United in what was a simply crazy game. Guimaraes, Diallo and Gyokeres had all netted equalisers for the Red Devils - but they simply ran out of steam and exited the FA Cup at the first hurdle.
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