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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Samuel Meade

Man Utd managerial target Luis Enrique in stands to watch Red Devils in Champions League

Luis Enrique will be in attendance for Atletico Madrid's clash with Manchester United in the Champions League on Wednesday night.

The Spain boss is among those linked with the Old Trafford hot seat this summer.

Mauricio Pochettino and Erik ten Hag are among the favourite to take charge at Old Trafford should Ralf Rangnick, as is expected, step aside.

Enrique's presence at the Wanda Metropolitano, which was reported by El Partidazo de Cope, will only serve to heighten the speculation of a move to England.

That said, as Spain's coach, watching some of his players live in action during a crunch game is nothing new.

The likes of Koke will be attempting to plot the downfall of the English side.

Who should be Man Utd's next manager? Have your say in the comments!

Enrique is under contract with his national side so is certainly a difficult target should United choose to pursue him in the coming months.

Spain will be among the favourites to claim World Cup glory in Qatar come the winter and losing their coach months before the tournament will not be ideal preparation.

Enrique appeared to quash any talk of an early exit from his current role recently.

He joked: "Is it April Fools' Day today? I am already in the biggest team in Spain, the national team.

"We are 5,000 players, I have the players I want. What's bigger than that? The future changes in 15 seconds. Now we have to enjoy ourselves, and I am happy where I am."

Enrique has proven himself at club level having managed Barcelona for three years.

The former player took charge in 2014 and led the Catalans to the treble in his first season, matching the achievements of Pep Guardiola. He went on to defend the LaLiga title a year later.

Enrique did so whilst managing a dressing room that contained huge personalities in Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez.

He would therefore have no issues taking charge of United, themselves arguably the biggest club in the world, with their own set of challenges.

One man who may be hoping Enrique doesn't arrive at Old Trafford is David de Gea.

The goalkeeper, who will return to Atletico tonight, the club where he began his career, is not No 1 with the national side.

Unai Simon was Spain's goalkeeper throughout the Euros in the summer and may have reservations about Enrique's opinion on him.

United's No 1 highlighted his plan to remain in Manchester this week, with his current contract running out in 2023.

He said: "Where you are loved and welcomed is your home. I've been here for many years and, obviously, anything can happen in life, in the world of football, but honestly, I don't see myself away from Manchester United."

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