It’s claim that contact has twice been made between United and Xavi via intermediaries in recent months, with CEO Omar Berrada in Barcelona last Thursday as part of a four-person delegation.
In the event Xavi is hired, it begs the question; how might United line up?
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Xavi’s team typically lines up in a 4-3-3 formation, with the La Masia graduate championing the “Four P’s” – positioning, possession, pressure and perception.
In terms of line-ups, Xavi would not be likely to go searching for a new goalkeeper, given how well Andre Onana suits his style of wanting to play out from the back.
Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui are both extremely capable right-backs who could feature in a Xavi team due to their technical prowess, though the former’s ability to tuck into midfield could make the difference on who is given the nod.
Lisandro Martinez is another star who suits Xavi’s system, though there could be a toss up on who starts as the right centre-back.
Matthijs de Ligt has looked lightweight at times for United, which could prompt Xavi to ask the club to sign a new defender in the form of Ronald Araujo.
This being said, like Martinez, the Uruguayan is an aggressor centre-back, while the Argentine has played his best stuff alongside a covering partner in Raphael Varane.
Sir Alex Ferguson steps away from ambassador duties at Manchester United
That may instead mean Xavi turns to teen prodigy Leny Yoro, who is back in training after suffering an injury in pre-season.
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United have left-back options who are good when fit, however, both Tyrell Malacia and Luke Shaw have been absent for some time, leaving Dalot as the main defender to fill in there.
If either Malacia or Shaw cannot be relied on to play, Xavi may try a raid on his old club by signing 21-year-old Alejandro Balde.
Moving into midfield, Xavi may finally be able to land the midfielder who was Ten Hag’s No1 target in his first summer at the club, Frenkie de Jong.
However, while the manager of Barcelona, Xavi had a number of midfield targets which he may switch over to his Old Trafford moving in shopping list.
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He is said to “love” Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi, who is a transfer target for Arsenal, while Arthur Vermeeren was also linked to Barcelona during Xavi’s tenure.
Alternatively, and echoing reports suggesting the Red Devils want to bring him back, Angel Gomes could also be a welcome addition in midfield.
United academy star Kobbie Mainoo is likely to remain in the team – given not just his importance and quality but also because Xavi is more than happy to give a large volume of minutes to youngsters.
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Further forward, Xavi may see fit to try and ease out club captain Bruno Fernandes by bringing in Xavi Simons – targeted by him in Spain and by United transfer chiefs.
But should Xavi tell transfer bosses he is desperate for some new additions, he may ask them to sign Barca target Nico Williams.
The Euro 2024 winner refused to move to the Blaugrana from Athletic Bilbao last summer as he wanted to stay for another season.
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Xavi may even look to some of his old favourites at Barcelona, with former Leeds star Raphinha and ex-Man City star Ferran Torres among his most used stars at the Camp Nou with 113 and 100 appearances respectively.
Napoli forward Khvicha Kvaratskhelia may also be a consideration, but he would likely be less available than the other options mentioned.
Nine managers Man Utd considered before keeping Erik ten Hag
ERIK TEN HAG appears to be safe as Man Utd manager, but the Dutchman edged dangerously close to the sack.
Here are nine managers Red Devils chiefs are reported to have considered for the job and what allegedly happened with each.
Gareth Southgate
Enjoys plenty of support among Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos chiefs but made clear he wouldn’t talk to any clubs until after Euro 2024. There is yet to be any suggestion that contact was made with the England boss.
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Kieran McKenna
Talks were opened with McKenna’s representatives before the FA Cup final, but the former Man Utd coach opted to sign a new deal with Ipswich after Ten Hag’s Wembley win.
Roberto De Zerbi
Allegedly sounded out before the FA Cup final with salary expectations discussed. But Ineos chiefs concluded ex-Brighton boss was not the right fit for the project.
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Thomas Frank
Brentford boss met Man Utd representatives the day before the FA Cup final. The Dane also dined with Ratcliffe, Roy Hodgson and Frank Lampard at the launch of a new Ineos car in February.
Marco Silva
Fulham boss reportedly met Man Utd representatives face-to-face two days before the FA Cup final, around the same time as Ten Hag was conducting his press conference.
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Mauricio Pochettino
Fell out of Man Utd’s thinking in the first week of June, despite being a favourite of Sir Alex Ferguson.
Thomas Tuchel
Made a very strong impression and came across well during a Monaco meeting. Personal terms were discussed before the ex-Chelsea and Bayern Munich boss decided to step back from the process.
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Ruben Amorim
Sporting boss was discussed by the Man Utd hierarchy but did not make the final reckoning.
Roberto Martinez
Portugal manager was considered in the early stages.
New York City head coach Nick Cushing is a candidate to become Arsenal Women’s new manager after Jonas Eidevall’s departure.
Cushing led Manchester City to the Women’s Super League title in 2016 during a seven-year spell before moving to the United States in 2020.
He joined men’s team New York City as assistant manager before becoming head coach in 2022.
The Gunners have been without a manager since Eidevall resigned on 15 October following defeat by Chelsea at Emirates Stadium.
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Arsenal are still considering other options, but would be prepared to wait if Cushing becomes their top target – as the Gunners have confidence in interim manager Renee Slegers.
Cushing is set to oversee New York City’s best-of-three Major League Soccer series play-offs against Cincinnati which take place between 28 October and 9 November.
Ilia Topuria’s head coaches don’t think it’s a good idea for Max Holloway to try his signature showdown with the UFC featherweight champion.
Jorge and Agustin Climent, owners of Climent Club in Spain, are confident that not only will Topuria (15-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) get his hand raised at UFC 308, but that he can become the first man to knock out Holloway (26-7 MMA, 22-7 UFC), especially if the Hawaiian points to the ground and welcomes a brawl.
“If he’s going to have a showdown with Ilia, Max needs to put on a motorcycle helmet because Ilia cracks. His hands are dynamite,” Jorge told MMA Junkie in Spanish.
That confidence was also backed up by his brother.
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“He has it tough, yeah. That poor guy needs to bring a helmet,” Agustin said. “Holloway hits hard, but Ilia hits very, very hard. He’d explode his head if he connects on him. His power is incredible, and he’s getting more and more dangerous.”
Holloway has fought many world-class power punchers, and yet, in 33 fights, he’s never been knocked out. Holloway has fought the likes of Justin Gaethje, Dustin Poirier, Conor McGregor, Jose Aldo, Yair Rodriguez, Charles Oliveira, and many other striking experts.
The Climent brothers are well aware of what Topuria is up against, and even then they have all the confidence their guy will get the stoppage win.
“Ilia can do the impossible, which is what he’s been doing up to now,” Agustin said.
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Jorge added, “Normally people have their doubts, but us that know Ilia for 15 years, we know what he’s capable of, and we know what he’s going to do.”
Topuria is undefeated in his career, and has quickly become one of the best fighters today in just four years into his UFC career. Agustin believes Topuria, now 27, has entered a level that is unmatched today at 145 pounds.
“Ilia has been at a crazy level since before the Volkanovski fight, and he’s just maintaining that,” Agustin said. “But, yeah, he’s flying. He’s in his prime. If he were to fight Max Holloway when he fought Volkanovski, he would’ve beaten him up, and he beats him up now or the next month.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 308.
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Check out the Hablemos MMA YouTube channel for Spanish-language videos and interviews with MMA Junkie’s Danny Segura.
Be sure to visit the MMA Junkie Instagram page and YouTube channel to discuss this and more content with fans of mixed martial arts.
“I’m so excited to announce that I’m going to be racing full-time next year in the NASCAR Truck Series,” actor Frankie Muniz said in a video posted by Ford Performance. “I can’t wait. I’m so excited to be full-time. We’re going to have so much fun next year. I can’t wait for you to watch.”
Muniz will pilot the No. 33 Reaume Brothers Racing Ford full-time in the NASCAR Truck Series next year, having made his Truck debut with the team a few months ago.
The popular American actor gained notoriety for his role in the sitcom “Malcolm in the Middle,” earning an Emmy Award nomination and two Golden Globe Award nominations. He has since appeared in numerous films and television shows.
The 38-year-old has always had an interest in racing and tried to enter the open-wheel world in the mid-2000s. He spent three years in the Champ Car Atlantic Series, placing as high as fourth and ending the 2009 season ninth in the championship.
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In 2023, he entered the stock car world with a full-time ride in the ARCA Menards Series. He ended his rookie season fourth in the championship standings, scoring one top-five and 11 top-tens in 20 starts, with his best result at Michigan where he finished fifth.
This year, he made his debut in both the NASCAR Truck and Xfinity Series. Driving the No. 35 Joey Gase Motorsports Ford Mustang, he competed at Daytona, Portland, and Phoenix. Unfortunately, he failed to qualify for the race at Portland and failed to make it to the finish of the other two races — Daytona due to a crash, and Phoenix due to a mechanical issue. His best result came at Phoenix where he finished 30th.
He did not hide his frustrations as misfortune continued to follow him in his NASCAR exploits, sounding completely dejected after the Portland DNQ. But his love for the sport is apparent as he keeps coming back for more.
Frankie Muniz, Joey Gase Motorsports, Ford Performance Ford Mustang
Photo by: Matthew T. Thacker / NKP / Motorsport Images
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In the Truck Series, he made two starts — both with Reaume — piloting the No. 22 truck with a best result of 29th at Kansas. Muniz has also reappeared in the ARCA Menards Series, earning his 12th career top-ten at Talladega when he finished ninth.
Muniz has remained busy outside of the stock car world as well, competing in the Mustang Challenge Series at COTA during the summer, finishing tenth in class and 12th overall.
During this past Saturday’s PFL Battle of the Giants event, McGregor spent much of his time on social media roasting the action on the main card. With the exception of the main event, which saw Francis Ngannou score an impressive knockout in his MMA return, four of the top five fights on the lineup went to the scorecards and one fight in particular drew McGregor’s ire.
Eblen successfully defended his middleweight title in a rematch with Fabian Edwards, but the five-round decision victory had McGregor mocking the champion’s workmanlike effort. On Tuesday, Eblen tweeted a critique of McGregor, which the UFC star has since responded to.
Conor went from “The face of the fight game” to “The disgrace of the fight game”
He embodies literally everything I don’t want to be as a man or as a human. What an embarrassment. It’s giving Icarus.
“Conor went from ‘The face of the fight game’ to ‘The disgrace of the fight game,’ Eblen wrote on social media. “He embodies literally everything I don’t want to be as a man or as a human. What an embarrassment. It’s giving Icarus.”
To that, McGregor responded, “Bro the fight was absolute poo, that’s it.”
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Eblen currently sports a 16-0 record and has made a name for himself as the best middleweight in the world outside of the UFC. He entered Battle of the Giants holding the No. 5 spot at 185 pounds in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings.
His criticism of McGregor stems from the former two-division champion’s lack of success and inactivity in recent years. “Notorious” has just one win in the past eight years, with Khabib Nurmagomedov, Dustin Poirier, and boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. all handing him defeats.
McGregor has had plenty of time to engage in public feuds as he awaits his first fight since July 2021, when he broke his leg in a fight against Poirier at UFC 264. The 36-year-old was to make his comeback against rival Michael Chandler at UFC this past June, but was forced to withdraw due to injury.
It was part of a 20-minute exchange that was typical of the kind of magnetism Mourinho still holds.
In praising United for keeping faith with current manager Erik ten Hag during the present difficult spell, Mourinho managed to refer back to his own dismissal in December 2018 after two and a half seasons in charge.
“I wish the best to Man United since the moment I left,” he said.
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“I left with a good feeling to the club and with a good feeling to the fans. If things are not going amazingly well for them it’s not something that makes me happy.
“It doesn’t make sense for me to be thinking about what happened and what didn’t happen.
“What happened for sure, because it’s very objective, is they keep faith in the coach, they support the coach, the coach is staying season after season and that means stability, it means trust, and they are giving him conditions to keep developing his job. That was different in relation to me.”
Mourinho said he was unaware he has never previously lost a home game against United.
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He pointed out his previous encounters with them were with big clubs and said Fenerbahce would require the help of 35,000 home supporters in the stadium to stand any chance of victory.
“We are going to try and we can do it, but there is a gap,” Mourinho said.
Mourinho also offered his view on Sir Alex Ferguson, who will lose his ambassadorial role at United at the end of the season.
The pair have got on ever since Mourinho arrived at Chelsea in 2004 and despite his own experience at Old Trafford, it is clear Mourinho’s affection for the 82-year-old remains.
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“He is amazing, incredible,” said Mourinho. “When my Netflix documentary comes out, you will know why I have so much respect.
“I don’t know the situation, it doesn’t matter why or what. He has the love and respect of every Man United fan around the world. That is more important than the ambassadorial role or money he doesn’t need.”
Mourinho is already encountering some criticism, with Fenerbahce eight points adrift of old rivals Galatasaray in the Turkish league table.
He said he would take the advice of local journalists before finalising his line-up for the United game.
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However, after two spells with Chelsea, plus his time with United and Tottenham, it appears the 61-year-old is not finished with the Premier League just yet.
“Sooner or later they [Manchester United] will succeed,” he said. “Hopefully it is sooner, hopefully before one day I go back to the Premier League and they become my opponent.
“At this moment they are just my opponents for one match.”
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