Julen Lopetegui’s one-word reaction to Man Utd links as Jorge Mendes pushes for Spaniard

Manchester United sack Ole Gunnar after Watford defeat

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Sevilla boss Julen Lopetegui says reports linking him to the vacant manager’s role at Manchester United are ‘absurd’. United are on the lookout for a new boss after giving Ole Gunnar Solskjaer his marching orders on Sunday morning.

The Red Devils have suffered an egregious run of form in recent months and have dropped to eighth in the Premier League table.

And the final straw for Solskjaer came after the team were thumped 4-1 at strugglers Watford on Saturday afternoon.

The Norwegian was dismissed after an emergency meeting between club chiefs, with Michael Carrick stepping up as the side’s caretaker boss.

A whole host of names have been tipped to take over at Old Trafford on a full-time basis, with Cristiano Ronaldo’s super-agent Jorge Mendes apparently pushing for Lopetegui to be given the role.

But the former Spain manager was in no mood to entertain the idea of a move to England when he spoke to the press ahead of his side’s Champions League clash with Wolfsburg.

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“No, please, just ask me about the plan to win at Wolfsburg,” Lopetegui hissed. “The rest, with all due respect, seems absurd to me.”

Sevilla will be looking for their first European win of the season when they take on the German side at Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium on Tuesday night.

The Spaniards are bottom of Group G and could exit the competition if results go against them.

Lopetegui has done a stellar job since taking charge of Sevilla in 2019. The former goalkeeper led the club to the Europa League trophy in his first season at the club and has secured back-to-back fourth-place La Liga finishes.

The 55-year-old previously spent two years in charge of the Spain national side, but was sacked just two days ahead of his country’s opening match of the 2018 World Cup after it was announced he had agreed to take charge of Real Madrid.

Lopetegui subsequently lasted just four-and-a-half months at the Bernabeu before being sacked after a string of poor results.

The Red Devils’ season is in danger of becoming farcical if they can’t turn things around quickly.

Saturday’s defeat means the team have picked up just four points out of the last available 21.

And they are now a staggering 12 points behind Premier League leaders Chelsea.

United travel to Villarreal in the Champions League on Tuesday night, where they will be hoping to take one step closer to the knockout stages of the competition.

The north west side currently top Group F of the competition but could drop to third if results go against them this week.

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