Erik Ten Hag & Cristiano Ronaldo Monday Meeting Crucial For Manchester United's Efforts To Keep Wantaway Striker

Cristiano Ronaldo's Manchester United future is unknown after recent reports, a meeting with Erik ten Hag on Monday could provide further clarity on how the situation will unfold.

It was widely reported yesterday that Cristiano Ronaldo had informed Manchester United of his desire to leave the club if they received an acceptable offer for him, and we've got more on the situation since.

For their part, United's public stance is that he's not a player they want to sell, and that he's an important part of new manager Erik ten Hag's plans.

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Simon Stone added more on the situation, mentioning that Ronaldo has been anxious to stress he respects United but wants to compete for the biggest prizes as he enters the final stages of his career.

He also mentioned that United don't see him as a player who's for sale, but went on to add that any potential exit would create more within United's summer transfer budget.

As was reported yesterday, in case of a potential Ronaldo departure, Erik ten Hag would push United to sign Ajax winger Antony.

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However, the situation still very much seems to be in the balance.

Simon Mullock of Mirror Sport had reported that Erik ten Hag was set to meet Ronaldo on Monday and would ask him if he's ready to honour the final 12 months of his contract.

This information was furthered by Ian Whittell, while writing for Telegraph Sport. He mentioned that Ronaldo was set to return for pre-season on Monday, and that United would seek clarity from him regarding his immediate future.

The report also mentioned that the meeting would be held to establish how 'vehemently' Ronaldo wanted to leave United - and what further courses of action could be followed by both parties if he was to remain insistent on leaving the club.

David McDonnell of Mirror Sport had a bit more on the issue.

He mentioned that while United's public stance was that Ronaldo wasn't for sale, there was an acceptance privately that it would be detrimental to Erik ten Hag to keep the player against his will - given the unwanted complications that would almost certainly arise as a result.

Adding on to all that though, Philip Buckingham of The Athletic suggested that a lack of good attacking alternatives on the market is currently serving as United's biggest motivation to hold on to Ronaldo, than anything else.

While United are expected to announce the arrival of Tyrell Malacia imminently, moves for Frenkie de Jong and Lisandro Martínez still seem to be in the balance. 

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In the potential scenario of Cristiano Ronaldo leaving the club again, United should be trying to put themselves in a position where the majority of their other incomings are sorted by then.

This will give the club the best possible chance to subsequently add to the list of forwards at the club.