Erik ten Hag has pencilled in face-to-face talks with Cristiano Ronaldo after the Portuguese forward lodged a shock transfer request - but they will have to wait after the superstar was absent from training on Monday.
The former Real Madrid and Juventus forward stunned supporters and over the weekend by indicating his desire to depart Old Trafford in the current window in an effort to return to the Champions League - the Red Devils having finished sixth in the Premier League last term.
United have already taken a tough stance on his potential exit by regularly insisting that he is simply not for sale and there are now set to be discussions between Ronaldo and Ten Hag with the Portuguese set to return to the club’s Carrington Training Base over the next week.
Ronaldo did not return on Monday for pre-season testing, with the club revealing his absence was "due to family reasons and the club has accepted this explanation". A number of players - as well as United's new boss have all arrived at the club's training ground - with a stark absentee being Ronaldo.
Once he does eventually return, the first port of call will be talks between the two regarding Ronaldo’s frustrations, which Ten Hag would no doubt have been keen to undertake sooner rather than later.
Mail Online reports that Ten Hag is keen to come to an understanding with the 37-year-old over his desire to depart Old Trafford this summer and is aiming to reach a resolution sooner rather than later, particularly with the club set to fly on Friday for their pre-season tour of Asia and Australia.
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The former Ajax boss originally planned for Ronaldo to be part of his strikeforce next season having seen him plunder 24 goals for an under-par Red Devils side last term. In the meantime, the Portuguese has already expressed his excitement to be play under Ten Hag during the coming season.
Speaking to Man Utd’s official website, he said: “What I know about him is he did a fantastic job for Ajax, that he's an experienced coach. But we need to give him time.
"Things need to change the way he wants. I hope we have success, of course, because, if you have success, all of Manchester is going to have success as well. I wish him the best.
"We are happy and excited, not only as players, but the supporters as well. I wish him the best and let's believe that, next year, we are going to win trophies.”
Whilst Man Utd and ten Hag have been making plans for Ronaldo to be at Old Trafford for the coming season, it appears that the latter has somewhat accepted that he might not be at his disposal. In the aftermath of his shock transfer request, the Red Devils’ boss submitted an emergency request to sign Ajax star Antony as his potential replacement despite the club having previously been put off by the Eredivisie side’s £70m asking price.
A number of clubs have already been linked with a move for Ronaldo including Chelsea and Bayern Munich but no offers have yet been lodged to United for his services.
