Underwhelmed by Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s stint at the wheel, Manchester United are hoping to replace him with Thomas Tuchel. Reports from France suggest both United and Barcelona are interested in luring the German away from Paris Saint-Germain and after the French club’s smiting of Real Madrid last night, we’re guessing there could be plenty of interest from the Bernabéu as well.
Following Real humbling against a team dressed as the Allied prisoners from Escape to Victory, Zinedine Zidane will be unsurprised to find himself under pressure. Unable to muster a shot on target in a Champions League match – unless you count those two goals they had disallowed – for the first time since Opta records began, his side could scarcely have looked more clueless as their hosts gave them a proper spanking. Next up for Real is a trip to table-toppers Sevilla, managed by Julen Lopetegui, who was manager of Real this time last year after being appointed in highly-controversial circumstances – the timing of which cost him his job with Spain on the eve of the World Cup. Lose in Seville and the knives will almost certainly be out for Zizou.
Manchester United central defender Victor Lindelof has signed a new deal binding him to the club until 2024, with the option of a further year. Despite getting off to an inauspicious start at Old Trafford, the Sweden international has established himself as a first-team regular alongside Harry Maguire and follows David De Gea in adding his scrawl to a new and improved contract. “Since the day I arrived at United it has felt like home,” he said. “I’ve grown significantly both as a player and as a person in the last two years.” Teenage striker Mason Greenwood is expected to be next into Solskjær’s office to pose with pen poised over a lucrative new deal, in the hope of keeping suitors from across Europe at bay.
Having signed Jack Clarke for £10m from Leeds this summer before sending him back to Elland Road on loan, Tottenham Hotspur are considering recalling the 18-year-old midfielder in January. One of six loanees at a club that is only allowed to include five in their matchday squads, Clarke has yet to play a minute in the Championship this season and is unhappy that he is being repeatedly snubbed by Marcelo Bielsa.
And finally, out of contract after leaving Bundesliga II side Hamburg during the summer, former Tottenham and Fulham midfielder Lewis Holtby could be off to Blackburn Rovers. The son of an RAF pilot who was born in Germany and went on to win three caps for Die Mannschaft, Holtby is reported to be in the middle of “good and intense talks” with the Championship club.
