Man United-linked Gareth Southgate issues update on future plans

Gareth Southgate has said that he has "lots of opportunities", as the former England manager weighs up his future, which could be in or out of football.

The 54-year-old decided to step down as England head coach following the Euro 2024 final, which the Three Lions lost 2-1 to Spain.

Southgate continues to be linked with the Manchester United job, with Erik ten Hag's position at the helm far from secure despite being kept on over the summer.

Ten Hag, as it stands, has a contract at Old Trafford until June 2026, but Man United have lost two of their opening three Premier League matches of the campaign.

If the team's poor form continues, Red Devils chiefs will have a major decision to make, and Southgate is regarded as a serious contender for the job, should a change be made.

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Southgate says he has "lots of opportunities"

Southgate has said that he will "take some time" before making a decision on his next move, and he is open to opportunities both in and out of football.

"I've got lots of opportunities, I'm very open-minded to what's next," he told Sky News. "That might be in football, that might be outside of football.

"I'm just going to take some time, refresh, recharge and go from there. I think at the moment people know that I need to get my energy back."

Southgate, who led the Three Lions to two major tournament finals during his spell in charge, insisted that it was "the right time" to leave England.

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Southgate has no regrets over England departure

"I think it was probably the right time for change," he said. "I don't think you can have regrets. We made decisions with the information we had at the time to try and produce a winning team.

"We raised expectations and that was important. We needed to put English football back on the map."

England, who currently have Lee Carsley at the helm, won both of their UEFA Nations League games during the recent international break, overcoming both Republic of Ireland and Finland.

As for Man United, the 20-time English champions will be bidding to bounce back from their 3-0 loss to Liverpool before the international break when they head to Southampton on Saturday.

The Red Devils could welcome Luke Shaw and Rasmus Hojlund back into their squad this weekend, while Manuel Ugarte is in line to make his debut following a move from Paris Saint-Germain.

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