Manchester United Reportedly to Snub Pep Guardiola, Stand by Louis Van Gaal

As Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola's contract is set to expire at the end of the season, Europe's elite are eagerly anticipating the opportunity to recruit him—except for Manchester United, who will reportedly stick with Louis van Gaal even if that allows Manchester City a free run at him.

That's according to the Guardian's Daniel Taylor, who explained Van Gaal's "deal runs until 2017 and unless something drastically changes United will take themselves out of the equation if Guardiola is available."

By contrast, Taylor reported City's loyalty to Manuel Pellegrini is not as ardent, particularly after some questionable results in recent months, while the club's chief executive Ferran Soriano and director of football Txiki Begiristain previously enjoyed a working relationship with Guardiola at Barcelona.

United's loyalty to Van Gaal may come as a surprise to some given the team's complete failure to inspire going forward this season.

Jon Super/Associated Press

The Red Devils have scraped together just 20 goals in 15 Premier League games and their top scorer in the competition is Juan Mata with four.

Samuel Luckhurst of the Manchester Evening News shared another damning statistic of the club's insipid attacking play, and after Saturday's goalless stalemate with West Ham United he believes their problems lie in Van Gaal's choice of formation and the failure to recruit more forwards in the summer:

Further, the Dutchman must also take responsibility for allowing too many attacking options to depart in the summer.

Indeed, while cases could certainly be made for allowing the likes of Robin van Persie and Radamel Falcao to leave, his decision to part ways with Javier Hernandez as well seemed bizarre at the time and even more so now as the Mexican has bagged 13 goals this season.

Michael Probst/Associated Press

It hasn't been all bad under the 64-year-old, though, as he has transformed a suspect defence into a solid unit that has shipped just 10 goals in the league—the fewest in the division.

Rob Dawson of the MEN believes the draw with West Ham was not Van Gaal's fault, at least:

Nevertheless, football writer Liam Canning believes United would be remiss not recruit the Spaniard while they can:

"

I commend LvG on what he's done with clearing out the deadwood and turning United's defence solid, but I'd take Guardiola in a heartbeat.

— Liam (@OffsideLiam) November 25, 2015"

That is doubly the case if the rumours of his preference for United are true, per Bundesliga expert Clark Whitney:

Guardiola has been phenomenally successful during his managerial career, winning—among other trophies—three La Liga titles, two Bundesligas, two Copa del Reys and two UEFA Champions Leagues at Barcelona and Bayern.

At just 44, Guardiola is still a fairly young manager and has the potential to create a lasting dynasty of success at his next destination.

The Red Devils' loyalty to Van Gaal is admirable and with the defence sorted he may well get the team firing on all cylinders with further recruitment, but Guardiola is too big an opportunity to pass up—particularly if their failure to act allows arch-rivals Man City to reach him first.