United officials meet with Pep Guardiola
Manchester United club officials have met with Bayern Munich boss Pep Guardiola, according to L’Equipe.
In a brief article on its website, L’Equipe suggests United met Guardiola in a Paris hotel last week to discuss him becoming the club’s new manager.
However, the article also acknowledges that Manchester City are still favourites to appoint Guardiola in the summer, but states that United have expressed an ambition to bring the Spaniard to Old Trafford.
Guardiola has already confirmed he will leave Bayern Munich at the end of the season, with Carlo Ancelotti set to be his replacement, in favour of a switch to the English Premier League.
The current United boss, Louis van Gaal, has been under pressure in his position of late after an unconvincing first half of the campaign. The Dutchman has seen his side eliminated from both the Champions League and Capital One Cup in disappointing circumstances, whilst sitting in fifth place in the Premier League.
It had seemed as though United were prepared to stick with van Gaal after the Dutchman came through an eight-match winless streak amidst rumours he was set to be sacked. However, his future beyond the end of this season is still unclear.
Van Gaal is under contract until the end of next season, after which he will retire.
After instilling a highly unpopular brand of football in his time at Old Trafford, a lot of United fans would probably be relieved to see the back of Van Gaal. However, a potential arrival for Guardiola would be greeted with even greater excitement.