Cristiano Ronaldo and five other Man Utd players involved in ‘crisis talks’ before Watford

Cristiano Ronaldo was one of six Manchester United players who Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had ‘crisis talks’ with, according to reports. The Portugal international has scored nine times since returning from Juventus during the summer transfer window. But the Red Devils have toiled, losing six of their last 12 matches across all competitions.

Manchester United had banked on a positive campaign after signing the likes of Ronaldo, Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane in the summer.

But that hasn’t happened, with Solskjaer overseeing a turbulent start to the new campaign.

United are already nine points behind Chelsea in the race for the Premier League title having amassed just 17 points from their first 11 matches.

They’re also out of the Carabao Cup, too, having been beaten by West Ham in their showdown at Old Trafford back in September.

And that means the pressure is very much on Solskjaer as he plans a way to beat Watford at Vicarage Road on Saturday afternoon.

Ahead of that match, the Daily Mail say the Norwegian has held crisis talks with six players as he looks to turn the situation around.

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Ronaldo was amongst them, with the Portugal international the club’s most-decorated and experienced player at the age of 36.

Club skipper Harry Maguire was another involved, with the England star hoping to rediscover his best form after a few months of inconsistency at club level.

And Bruno Fernandes, Luke Shaw, Victor Lindelof and Nemanja Matic were also involved in the meeting that took place at 10am at Carrington.

Solskjaer, it’s claimed, wanted to discuss how United can turn their season around.

And he also wanted to talk about their system, having used a back three in their matches prior to the international break.

So far, the Glazers have resisted calls to sack Solskjaer.

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Yet it’s stated by the publication that the Norwegian is on ‘thin ice’ going into a period that includes league matches with the likes of Chelsea and Arsenal.

And there’s been several managers linked with a move to Old Trafford amid their stuttering form under Solskjaer.

Brendan Rodgers seems to be the frontrunner for the post, despite making it clear he was happy at Leicester for the time being.

Zinedine Zidane has been endorsed in some quarters but, with the Frenchman enjoying some time away from management, there’s no guarantee he’d take on the role.

Erik ten Hag and Mauricio Pochettino are other options, too, despite their commitments with Ajax and Paris Saint-Germain.

And though the board admire Ralf Rangnick, his combative nature has seen him ruled out.

Solskjaer has been urged to push his coaching staff ahead of the match against Watford as he looks to keep his job, with former England boss Sam Allardyce saying recently: “You just have to look at his hair.

“Ole can only get through it with his staff and then by putting the players on the right track.

“Your staff need to be right on top of their game.

“We get all the criticism and all the praise as managers, but if you haven’t got the right staff… the success I had, I couldn’t have done it without my staff.

“I can’t believe I’ve still not got a total silver fox. People think I dye mine, but I don’t. I should have been a silver fox about 10 years ago.

“My advice to Ole is I would shut everything down from the inside, which is almost an impossible task.

“But to focus internally and keep the outside influences away from everybody.

“Focus and really find a way out of it with your staff. Ole’s staff are never more important than they are now.

“Ole can only get through it with his staff and then by putting the players on the right track. You need your staff need to be right on top of their game.”

source: express.co.uk