Man United, Barcelona Reportedly Interested in Monchi Amid Roma Exit Rumours

Manchester United and Barcelona are reportedly ready to make moves for Roma director of football Monchi amid speculation he is unhappy at the Italian club. 

According to Gazzetta dello Sport (h/t Calciomercato), with Roma struggling in the early weeks of the Serie A season, Monchi is considering his position at the club and would be ready to step down if the capital team continue to flounder.

It's added that some of European football's biggest clubs are interested in potentially recruiting Monchi should he fancy a new challenge, including United and Barcelona.

Per Calciomercato, Monchi made some interesting moves in the transfer market, including allowing Alisson Becker and Kevin Strootman to leave the club. Roma also missed out on the signing of Malcom to Barcelona, despite the Serie A side seemingly being in the box seat to land the Brazilian.

Monchi didn't appear to be too happy with the former Bordeaux man for changing his mind at the last minute:

Given the amount of comings and goings at the Stadio Olimpico this summer, perhaps it's no surprise that Roma have stuttered out of the blocks. After winning their opener against Torino, they were held to a draw by Atalanta and lost to AC Milan.

Roma made some exciting acquisitions in the summer in the form of Steven N'Zonzi, Javier Pastore and Justin Kluivert, but Monchi left key areas of the team without decent depth.

In goal, Robin Olsen has a huge challenge to replace Alisson, whereas in midfield the all-action influence and balance offered by Strootman will also leave a void. 

Regardless, following the exceptional work done by Monchi at Sevilla previously, where under his guidance the team won the UEFA Europa League on five occasions and the Copa del Rey twice, there should be faith in these players coming good.

While this model is common across the continent, Manchester United have never had a director of football in their history. Bleacher Report's Rob Blanchette outlined the merits of appointing someone like Monchi:

It would potentially stop the club from being involved in frustrating windows like the previous one, where Fred, Diogo Dalot and Lee Grant were the only acquisitions made by United.

Given the complex nature of transfers in the modern game, a director of football would also alleviate some pressure on the manager, who can better immerse himself in preparing the team for matches.

Still, it's not the first time Monchi has been linked with an exit from Roma; Spanish football journalist Colin Millar would be surprised to see him move on:

Monchi signed a four-year contract last summer with the option to extend it by a year, and based on his time at Sevilla he is happy to oversee a long-term plan. As such, it would be a surprise to see him bail on this project after little over a year.

However, if Manchester United or Barcelona were to put forward a proposition to the Spaniard, he would surely be tempted to join a juggernaut of world football.