A month ago Manchester United had an obvious target to present to Erik ten Hag. The rebuilding job is a major one at Old Trafford but this club knows better than anyone how the departure of a long-serving, successful manager can prove destabilising, so the prospect of the end game coming into sight for Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp was encouraging.
Guardiola's City contract was up at the end of next season and Klopp had always planned to leave Liverpool in the summer of 2024. That gave United a target of 2024/25, giving Ten Hag a couple of years to build a team ready to take advantage of any drop in standards at the Etihad or Anfield.
That certainly felt possible, given the modern version of City has been built entirely to suit Guardiola, and Klopp's departure will surely leave an emotional void among his Liverpool squad. The problem for United now is that what seemed certain a month ago is no longer so. Waiting to pounce at the end of the Guardiola and Klopp era is suddenly not an option for this club.
