Manchester United ready to poach Pep Guardiola

Manchester United are ready to muscle in on Manchester City and Chelsea’s bid to lure Pep Guardiola to the Barclays Premier League.

United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward, who is reluctant to fire Louis van Gaal following a run of six games without a win, has the outgoing Bayern Munich manager in his sights.

Van Gaal’s future is so precarious that he is being judged on a game-by-game basis as manager, but United would prefer to wait until the summer to fire him.

Guardiola piled the pressure on United and Chelsea by making it clear that he is not prepared to spend a season out of the Champions League when he makes his next move.

United fell out of the top four when they lost at home to Norwich City last weekend and Chelsea are languishing in 15th place, 11 points off a Champions League place.

Although Jose Mourinho is still angling for one of the biggest club jobs in football, Woodward does not want to be dictated to by the sacked Chelsea manager.

United also have serious reservations about Mourinho’s renowned lack of interest in helping to bring through young academy players, a factor that is viewed as particularly important for a club with a proud history of encouraging homegrown talent.

Mourinho is an instant-fix for United if they are forced to fire Van Gaal, who was the Portuguese coach’s mentor at Barcelona, but the dream ticket is Guardiola again.

Guardiola turned down the job when David Moyes was fired in 2013 and Diego Simeone, their second choice at the time, also opted to remain with Atletico Madrid. Woodward had to settle for Van Gaal.

Source: Daily Mail