“He’s evolved into a very, very intelligent football manager” – Danny Murphy names coach he would have preferred over Ten Hag at Manchester United

Former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy believes England manager Gareth Southgate would have been a better choice to be Manchester United manager than Erik ten Hag.

The Dutch boss will take over at Old Trafford next season following five successful campaigns at Ajax, where he guided his side to three Eredivise titles and a Champions League semi-final.

However, Murphy believes that Manchester United would have been better off appointing Southgate and his assistant Steve Holland, as they have more experience dealing with big players.

Southgate guided the Three Lions to their first major final in 55 years at the European Championships, but ultimately fell short after losing to Italy in the final on penalties at Wembley.

The 51-year-old also led England to a World Cup semi-final three years prior and Murphy was asked by talkSPORT who he would prefer to manage a Premier League club out of Southgate and Ten Hag, to which the pundit replied (as quoted by The Express):

"Gareth and Steve."

Murphy explained:

"Well I know them. They've come a long way, the pair of them, they've got a great partnership. I think for what they've achieved at England, the way he's managed players, big players, I think he's evolved into a very, very intelligent football manager. With Steve by his side I think they'd do a great job at a big club."

Southgate has not managed a club since he was sacked as Middlesbrough manager in 2009 following the Teeside club's relegation from the Premier League.

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Danny Murphy expresses doubts over Ten Hag's ability to manage Manchester United dressing room

The former England midfielder went on to explain his reasons for not believing in the Dutchman prior to his first season at Old Trafford.

Murphy claimed:

"They need someone to bring together this squad and to try and create a unity and an atmosphere and an energy that England have. I think that would be fair. I think what Ten Hag has done is of course credible, winning the league three or four times at Ajax, did alright at Utrecht, but he's not managed big players at a big club so we don't know how he's going to deal with that pressure. Every part of his life is going to be magnified."

He added:

"Whether he goes to the wrong shop at the wrong time, whether he drives the wrong car, everything he does is now going to be talked about."