GARETH SOUTHGATE attended Ineos chief Sir Dave Brailsford’s birthday meal, according to reports.
The England manager has been linked with taking over at Manchester United if Erik ten Hag loses his job.
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Brailsford, who is Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s right-hand man, now has a key role at the Red Devils after the British billionaire bought 25 per cent of the club and took charge of football operations.
To celebrate his recent 60th birthday on February 29, the former cycling chief invited several of football’s biggest names to dinner.
The Telegraph claim Southgate was among those present.
Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger and Roy Hodgson, Mauricio Pochettino and Thomas Frank all received invites.
Newcastle sporting director Dan Ashworth is set to move to Man Utd and he was also at the dinner.
Reports say the meal was a “private social event and not a club engagement”.
The Telegraph additionally claim that football was spoken about “informally” around the table.
Graham Potter was not present at the dinner, yet SunSport exclusively revealed that he held a meeting with Ashworth recently.
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On speculation linking Southgate with the Man Utd job, the Three Lions gaffer said: “I’m certainly not going to speak to anyone else.
“I never have, I’ve been eight years in the job and would never entertain speaking to anyone else while I’m in a job, so I don’t know if that answers your question.
“My focus is the European Championship. If we did a contract here before then everybody would be saying: ‘Why are you signing a contract before a Euros where you’ve got to prove yourself?
“There are two things from my point of view. Firstly, I am the England manager and I have got one job, basically, to try and deliver a European Championship.
“And the second thing is Manchester United have a manager.
“I think it is always completely disrespectful when there is any speculation about a manager who is in place.
“I am president of the LMA so I don’t have any time for that sort of thing.”