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Klopp on United’s radar

KloppManchester United could target Jurgen Klopp as replacement for David Moyes if they decide the Scotsman is not the right man to guide the club forward after a disastrous inaugural campaign at Old Trafford, which has seen the Reds fall 20 points behind league leaders Liverpool.

Last week it had emerged that United had met Holland manager Louis Van Gaal and even though the rumours were then swiftly denied by the club, the news was enough to place Moyes’ future under a cloud, particularly as an increasing number of fans seem to have turned on him.

However, today’s Mirror reports that while United have indeed met with the Holland manager, the Reds’ main candidate for the managerial position is Borussia Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp, who’s recently been linked with a move to Barcelona to replace Tata Martino and, rather unexpectedly, to Spurs.

At Dortmund, Klopp won a domestic double in 2012, before guiding his team to the Champions League final last season, which Dortmund narrowly lost to Bayern Munich and the German outfit were within a goal of forcing their quarter final with Real Madrid to extra time this season.

Klopp, who is under contract with Dortmund until 2018, has won many admirers for his brand of attacking, dynamic, football which is a world apart from Moyes’ defensive, turgid and small-minded approach. The Dortmund manager has also demonstrated to be a rather shrewd negotiator in the transfer market, having brought the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Ilkay Gundogan, Marco Reus and Mats Hummels to the Westfalenstadion.

Klopp’s record in signing players could play a major role in convincing United he’s the right man for the club, given that a number of senior figures at the club are said to be starting to doubt whether Moyes should be trusted with a massive transfer budget – theoretically anything between £150m and £200m – this summer.

Over the last 12 months, Dortmund have seen Bayern Munich sign two of their best players – Mario Gotze moved to the Allianz Arena in the summer and will be joined by Lewandowski this summer – and have fallen behind their domestic rivals, but Klopp has often been described as determined to establish Dortmund among Europe’s elite and has also stated his desire to put an end to Bayern Munich’s dominance.

On paper, Klopp and United are a match made in heaven, but after such a disastrous season United might no longer hold the appeal they held 12 months ago, though whoever replaces David Moyes will have a simple task on his hands. After all, it’d be hard to fathom a worse campaign that the one we’ve experienced so far.

Dan